by UK homes are among the worst insulated in Europe, leaving households exposed to skyrocketing heating bills this winter.
Research by climate management company Tado sampled more than 80,000 European homes and found that homes in the UK lose heat significantly faster than those in European countries.
In addition, new research released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics analyzing the energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales found significant disparities in the quality of home insulation between different areas of the UK.
Tado researchers found that a home in the UK with an indoor temperature of 20 ° C and an outdoor temperature of 0 ° C lost an average of 3 ° C after five hours.
Compared to properties in Germany, UK homes are losing heat up to three times faster.
The quality of home insulation will have a significant impact on the cost of heating a UK property this winter.
On 1 October, energy prices rose almost double compared to last year.
Under the government’s energy price guarantee, the amount that suppliers can charge per unit of energy used has been capped so that the average household bill does not exceed £ 2,500.
Households that use a lot of energy can pay a lot more.
According to the ONS analysis of local authority areas, median energy efficiency scores in England ranged from 77 for Tower Hamlets in London to 47 in the Isles of Scilly in the southwest.
In Wales, median scores ranged from 68 for Newport, Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Cardiff to 58 for Gwynedd and Ceredigion.
The data showed that social housing was more likely to have a higher energy efficiency rating.
About 15% of local authority areas had more than half of the homes in energy efficiency band C or higher; two thirds of these local authorities were in London or the South East.
In England, Tower Hamlets and City of London have the highest percentage of homes in energy efficiency band C or above (76% and 65%, respectively), while the Isles of Scilly and Pendle have the lowest percentage (14% and 22%). %, respectively).
In Wales, Monmouthshire had the highest proportion of homes in range C or above (49%) and Gwynedd and Ceredigion had the lowest proportion (24% and 26% respectively).
Political hub: real-time updates and reactions as the PM establishes the energy plan
In June, an independent advisory committee highlighted a “shocking” gap in the government’s efforts to ensure that homes are better insulated.
The Climate Change Committee said “a rapid and sustained push is needed to improve energy efficiency in homes and switch to electric heating” like heat pumps “to reduce fossil fuel consumption.” This, he said, would help people cope with high energy prices.
The average annual energy bill for UK households is around £ 40 more than it would be if isolation had continued at rates seen before the removal of political support in 2012
The report also found that British homes are among the most heat-wasting in Europe.
The committee asked the government to consider increasing funding for energy efficiency in low-fuel homes, as well as a widespread advertising campaign for the promised new energy advisory service and policies to incentivize homeowners to improve their property.
