A greener journey for the electrical sector

  Posted by: electime      17th December 2019

Simon Ayers, CEO of TrustMark

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is the government’s scheme to reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty across Great Britain, it will also provide a step towards creating healthier homes and wellbeing for those living in the property. It has had many iterations since it was first developed in 2013 with the latest version – ECO3 – being formalised by government in November 2019, coming into effect on 1 January 2020.

This new version now requires registration with TrustMark, the only Government Endorsed Quality scheme, which was developed based on the recommendations from the Each Home Counts Review.  Any contractors operating within the ECO environment, completing energy improvements on people’s homes, now need to be registered with TrustMark and working under the requirements of the TrustMark Framework Operating Requirement (FOR) by the new year.  It has also placed a regulatory requirement for the work being completed to be notified into the TrustMark Data Warehouse after it has been completed providing a full audit trail and greater levels of protection to the consumer.

ECO3 has been both welcomed and challenged by different areas of the construction industry. At TrustMark, we believe ECO3 is the start of an important journey for the industry, including the electrical sector, that will result in positive, impactful change for both consumers and tradespeople. The delivery of ECO3 is only part of the developing market that will be driven by climate change or as now termed, the climate crisis.  It is evident that electrification will play a large part of the future along with renewables and hydrogenation. The Government estimates that around 24 million homes will need to be updated during the next 30 years, the share of the electrical multi-billion market should be prepared and planned for.

The Each Home Counts Review identified certain failings in the supply chain and delivery of some ECO areas. Under ECO3, Registered Businesses will operate under a new rigour to meet new requirements for quality, technical standards and consumer protection while ensuring longevity of the work they provide. By using a TrustMark Registered Business to carry out work in and around their home, consumers are given high levels of confidence and protection.

Around 80 per cent of homes we will be using in 2050 are already standing, so the majority of ECO work will be retrofitting the properties we already have. Over the next 30 years we will be upgrading 24 million homes to make them more energy efficient. Replacing an outdated electrical storage heating system might be needed, or new double glazing fitted or improvements to the loft and wall insulation. The most sensible and efficient approach to this, is a whole-house approach, which will take a property from its current state to it having near-net zero carbon emissions in one of as few steps as possible.

When retrofitting a property, the new PAS2035:2019 specifications, which have come into force through ECO3, will encourage us to look at the complete property, instead of a single measure. How many times has a boiler been replaced in a property that has 30-year-old radiators, or a poorly insulated roof, or single glazed windows?

We need to look at the entire fabric of the house – the heating systems, the electrical usage and bring it all together. Only then will we see the biggest energy efficiency improvements for the property and see it becoming a healthier home for the owner. The introduction of Retrofit Assessors and Retrofit Coordinators will be key in evaluating a property as a whole and deciding on the work that is needed and working with the property owner and the installer to ensure the highest standard of technical standards and professionalism.

ECO is also the major funding mechanism for retrofit measures and has been expanded to allow more people to access funding for work on their homes. This, alongside green mortgages, which give people discounted mortgage rates once they have improved the energy rating of their homes, will drive up demand for retrofit works. This will undoubtedly see an increase in work for the electrical sector as the green revolution will take hold.

Some areas of the energy sector have challenged ECO3 saying it will increase costs, mean more red tape and could exclude smaller businesses from quoting for retrofit works. There is no doubt that the construction industry as whole is in a significant period of change. People are waking up to the fact that more needs to be done in all areas of society to reduce our carbon footprint. The government’s pledge to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, is a welcomed but ambitious one. Some evidence suggests we won’t hit that target and some evidence says that we don’t actually have until 2050 to make significant changes.

The key is to work together as an industry to ensure all sectors still remain busy and provide the highest quality of service for the consumer, which will result in energy efficiency savings. Over the coming years our society will significantly change – for example more people will be driving electric cars. As an industry we need to adapt, raise our standards and show consumers we can keep up with the rate of change.