Citizens in the UK are facingdifficulties with decarbonization 

There is a fairly broad consensus in the UK Parliament that it would be desirable to achieve maximum energy efficiency for residential buildings by 2050 and that their heating should be decarbonised. However, the British parliament and the experts have no idea how to meet this challenge for a quarter of British households as there are households that cannot be decarbonised by the standard recommended methods because not every British household is built for it and not everyone can afford it. 

The British have been busy improving the energy efficiency of their buildings. They started with the issuing of energy performance certificates based on building materials used, heating systems, insulation and an overall assessment of the energy performance of buildings. Labelling from A to G indicates energy efficiency, with A being the most efficient and economical model. 

The fact that the most common rating of most buildings was D did not diminish their enthusiasm for increasing efficiency. Here helped the exterior insulation, the window replacement or the installation of heat pumps. From energy efficiency category D, most average households have started to move upwards, towards savings and efficiency. However, the residential buildings, which fall into the very inefficient categories F and G due to their complexity, have not moved at all during this time. They are responsible for 25% of the emissions generated by the whole housing sector in the UK.

Houses that cause troubles

These properties, which have been given the abbreviation HtD (Hard to Decarbonize), cover a rather diverse range of residential buildings which are in principle not easy to decarbonise. Typically (from 60 to 80%) these are ageing blocks of flats, then houses nudged into a street with minimal outdoor space and buildings with a listed status located in a historic building. Their owners might also like to decarbonize, but they can’t. The government subsidy scheme for heat pumps is not going to help them because there is no suitable space to install it. Even the Council will not help them because no official would approve of insulating the facade or roof in a listed Victorian house.

And in high-rise buildings, there is a conflict between what the homeowner wants and what his tenants can afford to pay extra for. It is a big issue in social housing and community housing. Lack of money for a complete renovation is a major barrier to decarbonization and a common problem faced by property owners. This creates a polarisation in British society, where households that can afford to be efficient and decarbonise will improve their energy performance and reduce their heating costs, while those that can’t will pay more and more for energy and heating, and eventually face penalties and higher taxes for running an inefficient building. 

HtD facilities are traps for their residents for one more reason. Properties that are difficult to decarbonize will very soon lose value. They are prematurely obsolete, uninteresting to buyers because they are cold and expensive to operate. The average value of a single-family home in Britain is £296,000, so for now, the owner of an HtD home can rest assured that he can take a mortgage and stand surety with this property, or sell the property for that amount. But in a very short period of time, with continued efficiency and decarbonisation, his house can lose half its value and the owner may become very poor.

British households are paying 90% more for gas and electricity this year than this time last year. And for homes with F and G energy rating, it is about £500 more. If this trend continues, the already vulnerable households are in danger of being overwhelmed by the pressure of rising prices. Although there is broad agreement that all homes in Britain will need to be as energy efficient as possible by 2050, so far nothing has been done to help people living in homes that are not easy to decarbonise in recommended ways.