The Mayor of London is committing £51 million through the Warmer Homes scheme for the rollout of energy efficiency technologies including insulation, ventilation and heat pumps across the capital.
Of this funding, £40.2 million has been secured from the government to rollout the technologies from spring 2022, with grants of up to £20,000 on offer for heating, insultation and ventilation improvements. These grants are to be given to low income Londoners who own their homes or rent privately.
Meanwhile, a further £11.1 million is to go towards emergency heat replacements and repairs this winter, with £2.6 million of this being City Hall funding and £8.5 million being government funding.
Measures installed can also include renewable technology such as heat pumps and solar panels, the Mayor said.
The scheme – which has made energy efficiency improvements to 1,759 households to date – also includes the Warmer Homes Advice Service, which offers local energy advice services for vulnerable Londoners and those on low incomes.
The new funding comes as the UK sees record high energy prices as well as the continuing financial impact of COVID-19, which the Mayor said will plunge many more London households into fuel poverty this winter, with as many as 75,000 more London households having the potential to become fuel poor from higher fuel bills.
“I’m pleased that our £51 million commitment will directly help those living in ageing, energy-inefficient homes. This investment will help tackle the climate emergency and support Londoners with the skills they need for jobs in the green economy,” Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said.
The Mayor is currently aiming to achieve a “retrofit revolution”, having announced a centre of excellence, a partnership to bring together social landlords and building firms and an investment in the solar workforce in June.
Other schemes aimed at improving energy efficiency in the UK’s housing stock includes the Green Homes Grant, which closed earlier this year after a string of administrative problems.
The scheme – which offered households grants for the installation of technologies such as insultation and heat pumps – was described as “a slam dunk fail” by the Public Accounts Committee, while the National Audit Office found that just 20% of the £1.5 billion initially allocated to the grant scheme would be spent, with millions of the total expenditures also being spent on administration costs.
