Energy Efficient Windows and Doors in the Home. A new survey of homeowners experience of buying energy efficient windows and doors

Transcription

1 Energy Efficient Windws and Drs in the Hme A new survey f hmewners experience f buying energy efficient windws and drs

2 INTRODUCTION DGCOS, the cnsumer prtectin rganisatin cmmissined Opinium Research ( c.uk) and Rigby-Research ( c.uk) t establish hmewners reasns fr buying replacement windws and drs, and their experience f energy efficient windws. Opinium Research cnducted an nline Omnibus survey f 2,014 natinally representative UK adults aged ver 18 years 27th t 30th September Results have been weighted t natinally representative criteria. 61% f respndents were hmewners and these 1,224 hmewners are the base fr this survey. 1

3 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS KEY FINDING Reducing energy bills is nw the mst ppular reasn fr replacing windws and drs (61% f hmewners) with making yur hme mre cmfrtable (43%) and making yur hme lk better (42%) the ther tw main reasns. This is a remarkable change in pririties. Over the last 30 years r s hmewners have cited varius reasns fr replacing their windws and drs; reasns such as security, cmfrt, cutting ut draughts, appearance. But husehld dispsable incmes are under extreme pressure. Wages and salaries are generally capped and dispsable incme is being squeezed by rising general inflatin with fd, petrl and energy prices the mst visible csts. This year we ve seen annuncements f gas bills rising by up t 18% and electricity up by 11%. Well publicised frecasts warn f many mre rises t cme, and the Gvernment is preparing t fcus n the Green Deal in 2012 t make Britain s husing stck mre energy efficient. Little wnder hme wners are fcused n the need fr energy savings. Cnsumer surveys ften ask hmewners what is their single mst imprtant reasn fr replacing windws and drs, and individual reasns like energy efficiency r reducing energy bills are nw mentined by mre than 20% f hmewners, and this figure can be expected t rise. But hmewners usually have tw r mre reasns fr replacing their windws and drs. S this survey specifically asked hmewners t name their three mst imprtant reasns. The difference is highly significant. Mst hmewners give energy saving as ne f their tp reasns t replace, and the gap between energy saving and the next mst imprtant reasns is very large 61% cmpared t 43% r 41%. Energy saving is clearly uppermst in hmewners cncerns. OTHER FINDINGS Older hmewners (48%) are mre likely t replace t make their hme mre cmfrtable than 18-34s (32%) s (45%) are mre influenced by making their hme lk better than the ver 55s (39%). Men (22%) are mre likely t cnsider cndensatin a reasn t replace than wmen hmewners (15%). Only 12% - 20% in the Suth West - put reducing yur carbn ftprint as a reasn t replace. Reducing nise is mre f an issue in Lndn (26%) and the Suth East (30%) than in Yrkshire & Humberside (12%), Wales (10%) and Sctland (12%). 47% f thse wh have had their windws replaced r plan t in the next five years dn t knw r can t remember what energy rating they were. Excluding thse wh intend mre that rises t 57%. 30% wh have had wrk dne and intend mre say their windws were rated A-C. U values are ff the radar, with nly 2% f hmewners wh had their windws replaced saying their windws were 1.6 W/m2K r better. Until 2011 mst windw cmpanies sld windws with 1.6 W/m2K U values t cmply with legislatin rather than the mre cnsumer friendly A-C energy rated windws. But they made a pr jb f telling hmewners. N dubt this cntributed t the high Dn t Knws. Men (43% dn t knw) are better infrmed abut energy rated windws than wmen (51% dn t knw) but the level f Dn t Knws/Can t Remembers is high fr bth. Yunger hmewners (35% dn t knw) are better infrmed than the ver 55s (50%). Lndn (39% dn t knw) and the Suth West (31%) are better infrmed than the Nrth West (54% dn t knw), Suth East (53%) and Wales (57%). DGCOS

4 QUESTION 1 Q1 Have yu had windws r drs replaced in the last 5 years? YES NO 32% 67% DON T KNOW 1% KEY FINDINGS: 32% have had windws r drs r windws replaced in the last 5 years Nte that 38% said this in the previus study but that questin included cnservatries. Fewer yunger hmewners (28% f 18-34s) had wrk dne in the last five years than 35-54s (32%) and ver 55s hmewners (34%). There was n difference between men and wmen hmewners in wrk dne in the last five years. Wrk dne in the last five years was highest in the West Midlands (41%) and Suth West (38%) and lwest in the Nrth East (11%). 3

5 QUESTION 2 Q2 Are yu thinking f having windws r drs replaced in the next 5 years? YES NO 13% 78% DON T KNOW 8% KEY FINDINGS: 13% plan t have windws r drs replaced in the next 5 years Mre than ne in three f these (36%) have had wrk dne in the last five years. The intentin t d mre wrk is significantly different between the sexes. 16% f male hmewners planned mre wrk against just 11% f wmen. Des that imply a mre cautius apprach t hme finances, in respnse t a squeeze n husehld dispsable incme, amng female hmewners? With wmen mre influential in hme imprvement is that bad news fr hme imprvement cmpanies? Will the Gvernment have t d mre persuading thrughut next year if it wants hmewners t take up the Green Deal in the numbers it hpes in autumn 2012? Planning future wrk was mre prevalent amng under 35 s (21% f year lds) as ppsed t 14% f 35-54s and 10% f the ver 55s). Mre Lndners (19%) were planning t have their windws r drs replaced in the next five years than ther regins. While ther regins tk t replacing windws and drs with enthusiasm in the 1970s and 1980s, Lndn lagged behind but is making up fr it nw. Its mre buyant prperty market and reginal ecnmy supprting higher activity. Planned wrk is greater in Lndn than in the adjacent Suth East (12%). As it was pssible fr respndents t answer yes t bth Q1 and Q2, there is sme verlap between the grups. 28% f hme wners have had wrk dne but d nt plan t have mre dne 9% will have wrk dne but have nt wrk dne in the last five years 5% have had wrk dne in the last five years and plan t d mre in the next five years. This grup is ver ne in three (36%) f all thse wh plan wrk in the next five years. 41% (502) either have had wrk dne in the last 5 years r will have it dne in the next 5 years (r bth) DGCOS

6 QUESTION 3 Q3 Which f the fllwing were/wuld be the mst imprtant reasns when replacing yur windws r drs? [Chse up t 3] T reduce yur energy bills T make yur hme generally mre cmfrtable 43% 61% T make yur hme lk better 42% T increases the value f yur hme T reduce nise T reduce cndensatin T reduce yur carbn ftprint Other [Please state] Nne f these 6% 4% 12% 23% 21% 18% KEY FINDINGS: Reducing energy bills is nw the mst ppular reasn fr replacement with 61% citing it fllwed by generally making yur hme mre cmfrtable (43%) and making a hme lk better (42%). Reducing energy bills is imprtant t men and wmen and t all age grups. By regin, reducing energy bills was mst imprtant in the Suth West (76%) cmpared t Sctland (55%) but it was tp in all regins. There was virtually n difference in its imprtance between thse wh had dne wrk in the last five years and thse wh planned t d wrk in the next five years. Older hmewners 55+ year lds (48%) are mre likely t replace their windws and drs t make their hme mre cmfrtable than 18-34s (32%). Yunger year ld husehlds (45%) are als mre likely t replace t make their hme lk better than the ver 55s (39%). Making yur hme lk better was significantly mre imprtant t hmewners in Yrkshire & Humberside (48%), East Midlands (51%), West Midlands (49%) and the Suth East (44%) than in the Suth West (25%). Increasing the value f yur hme is f less imprtance as yu get lder. 34% f year lds cited it cmpared with 25% f year lds and just 18% f ver 55 s Men (22%) are mre likely t cnsider cndensatin as a reasn t replace than wmen hmewners (15%). Cndensatin was a relatively cmmn backgrund reasn acrss the cuntry, but it was mre f a prblem in Yrkshire & Humberside (28%) cmpared t Sctland (3%). Reducing yur carbn ftprint has failed t cnvince hmewners in general as an imprtant reasn t replace. Only 12% put it amng their tp three reasns t replace. There was virtually n difference by sex r age. Only in the Suth West did it stand ut with 20% listing it amng their tp three reasns, while it hardly gt n the scre bard in the Suth East (3%). Reducing nise was a mre imprtant reasn t replace in the Suth East (30%) and Lndn (26%) than in Yrkshire and Humberside (12%), and in Wales (10%) and Sctland (12%). There was surprisingly little variatin between thse wh have had wrk dne and thse wh will have wrk dne. That is true even amng the exclusive grupings (thse wh have had wrk dne but wn t in future, and thse wh wuld be having wrk dne fr the first time). 5

7 QUESTION 4 Q4 Thinking f the windws yu had installed r plan t install, are they/will they be? [If yu have had windws installed AND plan t d s in the future, please answer fr thse yu have already had installed] Have had wrk dne in last 5 years? (but will nt in next 5 years ie exclusive) Dn t knw/can t remember 57% A-C Energy Rated Windw 31% Nt had windws installed recently 6% Other 3% U value 1.6 2% D-G Energy Rated Windw 1% Will have wrk dne in next 5 years? (but have nt had wrk dne in last 5 years ie exclusive) Haven t decided n this yet 39% A-C Energy Rated Windw 29% Dn t knw 23% Other 6% U value 1.6 D-G Energy Rated Windw 3% 1% NOTE: Under new building regulatins t save energy all new replacement windws must be energy rated with A, B r C labels similar t nes used n fridges and ther appliances, r have a U value f 1.6W/m2K r better. DGCOS

8 QUESTION 4 (CONT) KEY FINDINGS: As expected, 47% dn t knw r can t remember the energy rating f the windws they have r plan t install. This rises t 57% amngst thse wh have had wrk dne in the last five years but dn t intend any mre wrk (ie the first table abve). 30% said an energy rating f A-C while 4% admitted t a rating f D-G Only 2% say that their windws have a U value f 1.6W/m2K r better Fr thse wh will have wrk dne, the figure fr Dn t Knw is much lwer (26% Inclusive, 23% Exclusive) but this is because figures fr Haven t decided yet are s much higher (30% fr Inclusive, 39% fr Exclusive). 29% f thse wh have nt had wrk dne but intend t have their windws r drs replaced in the next five years will have an A-C rated windw with nly 3% pting fr windws with a 1.6 U value. Men (43% dn t knw) are better infrmed abut Energy Rated Windws than wmen hmewners (51%) but the level f Dn t Knws is high fr bth. Yunger year ld hmewners (35%) are better infrmed than lder hmewners 48% f 35-54s and 50% f the ver 55s dn t knw r can t remember. The level f Dn t Knws is high in all regins but the Nrth West (54%), Suth East (53%) and Wales (57%) are even less well infrmed than Lndn (39%) and the Suth West (31%). Overall it is clear frm the very high level f Dn t Knws that while hmewners are cmfrtable using the familiar energy rates labels t help them buy appliances they are bradly in the dark abut them fr windws. U values dn t register with the public at all. 7

9 The Duble Glazing & Cnservatry Ombudsman Scheme Centurin Huse 129 Deansgate Manchester M3 3WR