Jonny Bairstow, Head of External Affairs at the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) looks at the shift in attitudes towards energy efficiency.
The topic of energy, and energy efficiency in particular, has long been a subject of vague disinterest among billpayers and households. Energy is a sector that has historically struggled with engagement, and energy efficiency in particular has often been miscast as a penny-saving exercise involving changing lightbulbs out for modern replacements, and very little else.
But this is rapidly changing – 2023 has the potential to see a real paradigm shift take place. Energy efficiency is now understood and acknowledged as a stand out way to protect ourselves from tyrannical regimes, to make big savings on our bills and to ensure our homes stay warm through an energy-starved winter. One of the most remarkable things about energy efficiency is how directly it touches upon almost all of today’s front-page headlines. Whether we’re talking about the gas crisis, the war in Ukraine or catastrophic climate change – all have their roots in our society’s insatiable (or is it?) demand for gas.
By properly embracing upgrades to our homes and the country’s other buildings now, we can lessen the hold these three spectres have over our country and our future. Ultimately, it’s a question of choice, and we must choose to quite literally insulate ourselves against the pressing existential threats of our time through what is now a topic of great interest to all – energy efficiency.
