§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has given to local authorities about savings in energy costs to be made as a result of the proper insulation of domestic properties.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergThe Department has issued information about savings in energy costs in Building Research Establishment reports and articles in technical journals. Local authorities can use this information to make estimates of savings which might be achieved in local properties taking into account variations in climatic conditions, types of dwellings and their construction, heating systems and fuel choice.
§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how United Kingdom standards for insulation in housing compare with those in other industrial countries.
§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsbergasked A comparison of the requirements for new housing suggests that the higher standards for walls and roofs now proposed for the building regulations are broadly in line with those applying in neighbouring industrialised countries taking account of different climatic conditions.
No such comparisons are available about standards in existing housing.
§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how much is spent on insulation of housing by the Government and local authorities; and 463W what return on the capital invested is estimated in terms of energy saving.
§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsbergasked Since 1977 about £8 million has been spent on insulation by the Property Services Agency, and, although this cannot be quantified in energy saving terms, it is estimated that in a typical 3-bedroom married quarter space heating costs will have been reduced by about 20 per cent. Under the public sector energy conservation programme, in the 21 months to December 1979 local authorities spent about £29 million, and the resulting energy saving is estimated to have been over 80,000 tons of oil equivalent.