UK Energy Research says better efficiency could cut power bills by £7.5bn per year

According to a report released on Wednesday by the UK Energy Research Centre, Britain could cut its domestic energy consumption in half with a more efficient use of power, saving residents roughly £7.5bn in energy costs along the way.

In order to achieve savings of this quantum, several changes within government policy would be required as the government had previously made little attempts to incentivise households to undertake the required measures, such as insulation, which could take as much as two decades for the required renovations to pay for themselves in bill savings.

The report stated that approximately 25% of the energy used for heating and electricity could be cut in a "cost effective" manner with households saving as much £270 a year on bills, and more through the health benefits related to warmer housing and better air quality.

A further 25% of domestic energy use could be cut, reducing Britain's domestic energy consumption to the same amount as generated by 12 nuclear reactors the size of Hinkley Point C, but that would require significant investment in insulation, heat pumps and demand management technologies.

The Energy Research Centre also said the reduced usage would also cut carbon dioxide emissions, positively impacting the environment and improving the quality of life for many suffering with conditions such as asthma.

Current policy does very little to entice Britons to invest in energy-saving measures for their homes and the idea of providing loans to allow for such improvements were ignored by Downing Street in 2016, but many households had taken steps to decrease their footprints by purchasing items such as more efficient boilers and low-energy light bulbs.

The use of gas had fallen 27% in the UK since 2004, with that of electricity dropping 13% over the same time period, but rising costs for the resources saw the average bill come in at around £1,110 a year.