The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme is marking a significant milestone in enhancing the energy efficiency of homes nationwide. According to a recent report examining the effectiveness of the current scheme at its midway point, over 660,000 energy-saving measures have been successfully installed into households since April 2022. That’s without taking into account the figures of the latter half that are still to come!
207,700 Households are now energy efficient!
The Government report reveals that by the end of September 2024, approximately 207,700 households benefited from energy efficiency improvements to their properties. This data also includes numbers carried over from previous phases of the ECO scheme, originally introduced back in 2013. The scheme helps UK residents lower their energy bills and reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint through free energy-efficient home improvements.
What are the most popular energy efficiency improvements so far?
Heating-related upgrades account for the largest proportion of installations carried out so far under ECO4. Making up 68% of the total amount, the most popular heating measures include:
- Heating Controls: Making up 48% of all installations, 217,035 heating control units, including thermostats and thermostatic radiator valves, were installed.
- Boiler Upgrades: Over 45,000 boiler-related installations were made. This includes replacing inefficient non-condensing boilers with A-rated ones.
- Heat Pumps: A total of 19,416 heat pumps, including air-source and ground-source models were installed.
Home insulation installations also featured highly during the first half of the scheme:
- Loft Insulation: 52,604 lofts were insulated.
- Cavity Wall Insulation: 17,394 homes had this type of insulation installed.
- Solid Wall Insulation: 30,538 homes benefited from having their solid walls insulated.
- Room-in-Roof Insulation: 7,935 lofts that had been converted into living spaces were insulated.
- Underfloor Insulation: 1,170 floors were insulated.
Other popular ECO4 installations included:
- Solar PV: 21,767 solar panel installations were carried out, often in conjunction with other heating upgrades.
How does the Future of ECO4 Look?
So far, the ECO scheme has delivered a total of 4.1 million measures in 2.5 million properties across all ECO phases up to the end of September 2024. And with another 12 months still left of the current scheme, tens of thousands more households are due to benefit during this time!
While it’s reassuring to know that ECO4 is already making a huge difference to the lives of those living in inefficient properties, there is still more work to be done. Millions of homes still lack adequate insulation. With the possibility of ECO5 presently unconfirmed, the final part of the ECO4 Scheme aims to bridge this gap by improving the energy performance of the hardest to heat homes, helping the most vulnerable in our society escape fuel poverty.
Start Your ECO4 Journey with Energy Advice Helpline
Here at Energy Advice Helpline, we can help you navigate the ECO4 journey with ease! If you have a property with a low EPC score of E, F, or G, you could qualify for free Government energy efficiency upgrades such as boilers, insulation, solar panels and heat pumps. Click the button below to see if your household qualifies for the ECO4 Scheme today!
