Decarbonising home heating: UK bets £15bn on solar and heat pumps

Esme Stallard and Justin Rowlatt write on the BBC News website about the latest programme to decarbonise Britain’s homes. Ministers are tilting Britain’s “homes upgrade” spending away from insulation and towards technologies such as solar panels, batteries and heat pumps as they seek to lift 1mn families out of fuel poverty. Is this the right … Continue reading Decarbonising home heating: UK bets £15bn on solar and heat pumps →

From Warm Front to cold comfort: the decline of Britain’s insulation efforts

Insufficient vetting and monitoring have enabled some unscrupulous operators to take advantage of the government-funded home insulation upgrade schemes, but in an article in the November/December issue of Energy in Buildings & Industry, Andrew Warren, chair of the British Energy Efficiency Federation, argues that these failings could easily have been avoided. Confidence in home … Continue reading From Warm Front to cold comfort: the decline of Britain’s insulation efforts →

Energy in Demand News, July 13-14, 2025

Almost three-quarters of all solar and wind power projects being built globally are in China, according to a new report by Global Energy Monitor, a non-governmental organisation based in San Francisco. In its account of the report, the Financial Times notes that of the 689GW of utility-scale solar and wind projects under construction globally, China … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, July 13-14, 2025 →

Australians could cut power bills by 90% if they made their homes more energy efficient, report finds

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has recently published a report on the benefits of focusing on the demand side. A focus on homes, not power plants, could halve energy bills Focusing on household solutions such as thermal upgrades, efficient electric appliances, solar, batteries and load-shifting would be an effective strategy … Continue reading Australians could cut power bills by 90% if they made their homes more energy efficient, report finds →

New publication from BPIE: Making choices for home renovation: A guide for an effective implementation of EPBD Article 9.2

With the policy framework in place, now effective implementation of the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is a necessity. The Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE) has just published a report to help in the implementation. The report is a practical guide to help member states implement Article 9.2 of the revised EPBD, focusing … Continue reading New publication from BPIE: Making choices for home renovation: A guide for an effective implementation of EPBD Article 9.2 →

Finding out what’s holding people back from getting energy-saving upgrades to their homes

In an article on The Conversation website, Jaime Comber, Senior Research Consultant in Energy Futures, University of Technology Sydney; Ed Langham, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney; and Nimish Biloria, Associate Professor of Architecture, University of Technology Sydney discuss what the main barriers holding back Australians from renovating their homes. … Continue reading Finding out what’s holding people back from getting energy-saving upgrades to their homes →

Energy in Demand News, June 8-9, 2025

Global energy investment is set to increase in 2025 to a record $3.3 trillion despite headwinds from elevated geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, a new IEA report says. Clean energy technologies will attract twice as much capital as fossil fuels. Investment in clean technologies – renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency and electrification – is on … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, June 8-9, 2025 →

Spotlight on EU funded project: three new platforms launched to help homeowners

This week, an EU-funded project, HORIS, launched three digital platforms – also called one-stop-shops, empowering homeowners to make energy-saving decisions during home renovation. The launch comes after 18 months of collaborative work by an international consortium of 10 organisations from 4 countries (Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain) which have partnered to develop these platforms to … Continue reading Spotlight on EU funded project: three new platforms launched to help homeowners →

Energy in Demand News, May 18-19, 2025

In an article about the paradox of climate adaptation spending, a Financial Times newsletter says that many global companies recognise the seriousness of climate-related risks to their business, with 66% of the EU businesses polled confirming that they face threats from the physical impacts of climate change. But, according to the survey last year by … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, May 18-19, 2025 →

Spotlight on EU funded project to provide home renovation roadmaps to address energy poverty in vulnerable rural districts

The EU-funded project RENOVERTY fosters energy efficiency building upgrades in the energy poor households of Central and Eastern Europe, South-eastern Europe and Southern European countries. The project aims to deliver tools and resources to support local and regional actors to build and execute operational single or multi-household roadmaps for rural areas. It has been underway … Continue reading Spotlight on EU funded project to provide home renovation roadmaps to address energy poverty in vulnerable rural districts →