More than a quarter of homeowners are less likely to move toward greener homes over the coming year, as the cost-of-living crisis causes households to “hit the breaks” on these moves, say NatWest and S&P Global.  

They report that 26% of homeowners said the rise in the cost of living had made them less likely to implement energy efficiency measures over the next 12 months, in their latest Greener Homes Attitude Tracker.  

It adds that the proportion of homeowners planning to make green improvements to their properties over this period fell to 22% in the final three months of last year from 24% in the third quarter.  

The average home could save £500 a year on bills under the new energy price cap from April with good insulation and heat pumps, according to Institute for Public Policy Research.  

But the Greener Homes Attitude Tracker says: “With household finances under pressure, the cost of the work required remained by far the biggest barrier to implementing green home improvements, cited by 71% of homeowners who had no plans to make changes to their property over the next decade.”  

A further 29% said the low availability of financing options to make homes greener put people off these upgrades.  

However, the report points out that households are attempting to save on energy bills, with 64% of homes trying to minimise home energy use, up from 59% a year earlier.  

The most common energy habit that people are taking action on is avoiding overfilling the kettle, cited by 48% of households.   

Many reported people turning down the heating – with almost half, 43%, of households changing their behaviour – even going as far as turning off radiators altogether, 37%.   

“Worryingly, these actions were generally more common among older age groups,” the study says.  

But despite these measures, the report says, energy performance certificate ratings are “steadily becoming more important to prospective homebuyers, and, in doing so, the energy efficiency of a property is now a higher priority than other factors such as the amount of local green space and access to public transport”.  

It adds that over one-in-five prospective homebuyers said that an energy performance certificate rating of C or above was an essential feature.   

The survey says: “This is potentially a result of the UK government aiming for all existing homes to reach an energy performance certificate rating of grade C or higher by 2035, as well as cheaper bills upfront.”  

NatWest head of mortgages Lloyd Cochrane adds: “The latest Greener Homes Attitude Tracker shows that although people are placing importance on energy performance certificate ratings and individual energy saving measures, there are still barriers when it comes to taking steps in retrofitting their homes.   

“We know that homeowners are keen to make changes that will save money and combat climate change – but the costs of making these changes remain a barrier for homeowners.”  

The Greener Homes Attitude Tracker is based on responses from 4,500 people across the UK in the fourth quarter of 2022.