More energy-efficient homes in London
Stage: Evidence gatheringCity Hall’s Infrastructure team wants to know your thoughts on switching to greener ways to heat your home and make it more energy efficient. Find out more about energy-efficient measures and have your say.
Closed
1091 Londoners have responded | 09/01/2024 - 18/02/2024
Making homes more energy efficient: what you told us
Updated: 14 May 2024
Our survey had over 30 questions on different measures to make your home and local area more energy efficient.
We shared your feedback with City Hall’s Infrastructure team, who commissioned market research agency Savanta to analyse what you told us.
Main findings
The majority of you (70%) are interested in switching to a low-carbon heating system. Appetite is high across homeowners and renters, age and boroughs.
There is a strong willingness to use retrofitting measures to make your homes more energy-efficient. Those of you aged 16-34 are significantly more willing. However, social renters (34%) and those in flats (30%) are least likely to consider installing low-carbon technology.
Double or triple glazing is the most common retrofitting measure that you already have in your homes, followed by insulation. Your consideration for other measures shows future appetite for low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps.
The cost and impact of bills are key concerns for you, on par with the benefit of reducing carbon emissions. You also have concerns around the practical steps for installing low-carbon technologies.
I really want to invest in energy efficiency measures in our home but I worry about the quality of workmanship, and I lack the time to hunt for skilled contractors.
You trust community groups – more than any other institution or individual – to make decisions about your heating system for you.
Three quarters (74%) of you think decisions about the decarbonisation of the local area should be made together by councils and the public.
About you
As Talk London is a self-selecting community, the response rate is not reflective of the London average.
We heard from more Londoners aged 55+ and homeowners in this survey.
However, there were sufficient sample sizes to highlight where underrepresented groups differ from the overall results.
82% of you live in a home with gas central heating, 10% electric central heating, 4% a heat network, 2% no central heating.
Who took part in the survey?
14%
31%
54%
2%
Thank you
Thank you all so much for your helpful responses and discussion! You have participated in one of the first surveys in London to reach out to residents to discuss what they would do to make their homes more energy efficient.
You shared a strong mandate for local authority action in this space, but also highlighted that collaboration with community advisory and energy groups will be key. You also shared concerns about affordability and finding trustworthy advice when retrofitting your home.
We’ll make sure to share all this with the boroughs we’re working with.
Next steps
At the end of April, the policy team shared the results of this survey at a meeting with borough partners who are interested in Local Area Energy Plans and retrofit.
Your feedback has started a wider conversation with local authorities about their residents’ key priorities, concerns and opportunities for decarbonisation.
The policy team is now working with boroughs across the capital on Local Area Energy Planning. Community views will be a key consideration in these plans, alongside technical analysis.
Once this first phase is finished, boroughs will likely start a detailed analysis to identify what would work best to decarbonise their area. They’ll also create a delivery plan to achieve their borough's net zero target.
We’ll keep you posted on any further updates.