Could a loan make a home greener?

Britons keen to go green but concerned about the costs involved in carrying out such home improvements may soon find that help is at hand. 

Over the course of the summer a number of proposals have been put forward designed to provide incentives to people who wish to renovate their homes in a way that makes them more energy efficient - which as well as reducing carbon emissions can also have the added bonus of lower utility bills. 

So what are the plans being out forward?

Energy and climate change minister Ed Miliband recently told the BBC that he hoped to create a clean energy future for the UK by paying households that supply clean energy to the National Grid.

Such energy generation can be achieved through technologies such as solar panels - which can use the power of the sun to heat a household's hot water supply and also boost a property's electricity supply - or a ground source heat pump - which uses heat stored in the ground to warm the home.

It is hoped that Mr Miliband's plans could help the country to meet its pledge to significantly reduce carbon emissions from the domestic sector by the year 2050.

Meanwhile, the UK Green Building Council has also made proposals to help people make their properties more environmentally friendly.

The group proposed that £10,000 loans put forward to fund energy efficient home improvements could be repaid over 25 years using the savings made from reduced energy bills. It is estimated that the plan could cost up to £15 billion.

However, rather than the loan being up to the householder to pay back, it would be attached to the house itself and paid back through council tax payments by whoever lived there. The council notes that an independent financial body should be set up to raise the necessary money involved through private capital.

Commenting on the plan, Gordon Miller, founder of whatgreenhome.com, said it was a bold plan but that the idea to offer people council tax rebates was a good one.

"Sometimes grand gestures are required to mobilise people to act. Ultimately, what is being proposed - and it's very unlikely the government will adopt on the specific recommendations - is just one of a series of measures to address the issue of Britain's notoriously energy inefficient homes," he added.

But discussing how critical it was for the UK to take action to encourage people to become more energy efficient, Mr Miller said 27 per cent of all carbon emissions in the UK are from residential dwellings, with approximately 75 per cent of existing poor thermal quality housing still set to be in use in 2050.

"If Britain is to meet its legally binding climate change obligations of reducing CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 against 1990 levels, then retrofitting our homes to be more energy efficient on a huge scale has to begin much sooner rather than later," he explained.

And Britons may wish to start taking action on their homes by making them greener, after a spokesperson for the Energy Saving Trust said that the group was asking the government to put regulations in place that would mean it would not be possible for people living in homes with a poor energy efficiency rating to either sell or rent out their properties.