Householders can apply for £10,000 grant to help make their homes more energy efficient from today

Householders will be able to apply for grants to help make their homes more energy efficient from today, as part of a £3billion government energy efficiency push.

The £2billion Green Homes Grant scheme will see the government fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements, up to £10,000.

Homeowners with low incomes are eligible for grants up to £10,000 covering the full cost of the works. 

These range from insulating walls, floors and roofs, installing double or triple glazing in place of single glazing and putting in low carbon heating such as heat pumps. 

The government hopes to make 600,000 properties more energy efficient as part of the scheme. 

Ministers say the scheme will also help households save up to £600-a-year on their energy bills, as well as cut carbon emissions from buildings and support 100,000 jobs in local trades across the UK.

Of the £2billion funding for the scheme, £500million will go to local authorities to provide green home improvements for those on low incomes.

The Green Homes Grant forms part of a wider buildings upgrade package, which also includes £1billion to boost the energy efficiency of public buildings such as schools and hospitals.

And proposals published by the government aim to improve the energy efficiency of rented homes by requiring landlords to reach an energy performance certificate (EPC) C rating for properties by 2028.

The government said the move could save nearly three million homes an average of £220 a year on their annual bills and lift 900,000 households out of fuel poverty.

Under the plans, the money landlords would have to invest to reach the standard for energy efficient homes, would be capped at £10,000 and they would be able to take advantage of the green homes grant.

Business and Energy Secretary Alok Sharma said: ‘Our plan to upgrade the nation’s buildings and help build back better is good news for jobs, the environment and people’s back pockets, as we reduce emissions and help cut energy bills.

‘I urge everyone to visit the Green Home Grants website to see how they can make the most of this fantastic scheme.’

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: ‘We promised to support jobs and protect the environment – and the Green Homes Grant delivers on this.

‘We’re giving homeowners, landlords and local authorities the funding they need to hire local tradespeople and make our homes more energy efficient. By supporting the green van men and women, we’ll save money, save jobs and save the planet.’

But Labour’s shadow minister for energy Alan Whitehead said: ‘Any money invested in making our homes more energy efficient and better insulated is welcome and it is good that the government have at last recognised that funding is needed to make it happen.

‘But this scheme really is a dog’s breakfast that could have been so much better at making the real, long-term changes to home energy efficiency that are desperately needed.

‘Rather than boom and bust we need a properly focused, stable and long-term programme able to create jobs, cut bills and prepare the country for its net zero future.’