Brits planning to spend £13bn on green home improvements

Brits are planning to spend over £13 billion making their homes greener, with over two thirds of people (68%) claiming they have already taken steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their homes over the last year alone, according to research by Co-operative Bank Mortgages.

Some of the most popular general ‘green’ changes already made by people include recycling (66%), switching to energy saving lighbulbs (60%), adding loft and cavity wall insulation (40%) and switching to double glazing (25%).

However the research also shows that going forward people are now planning to make less conventional green improvements. Initiatives that used to be extremely rare are now starting to become much more mainstream, with one in ten people planning to install rainwater capture to their homes (11%), whilst adding solar panels is an idea that is being considered by 7% of the population.

According to the research the ‘greenest’ region is Wales, where 75% of people have taken steps to make their homes greener over the past year. At the other end of the scale the regions with the lowest proportion of people who have made green improvements include Northern Ireland (65%) and the South West (65%).

John Barker, Head of Mortgages at the Co-operative Bank comments, “This research clearly shows that people are really starting to sit up and take notice of green issues in relation to their homes. Houses are one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK and taking steps to improve the environmental impact of homes is something that we strongly believe should be encouraged.”