Against the ongoing cost of living crisis, a Screwfix survey* has found more than half (54%) of all jobs being carried out by UK tradespeople over the past year have had an energy saving focus, up by a third when compared to 2022**.
More than 400 tradespeople took part in the survey, with 86% saying that homeowners were motivated to make the switch to energy saving products to save money on their bills. Just over a third (36%) said their main reason was to help tackle climate change.
When questioned on what type of energy efficiency jobs tradespeople were getting in, energy saving lighting topped the list at 44%, followed by smart thermostats (26%), while loft insulation and new radiators followed closely behind with 25% and 24%, respectively.
Questioned on what else is needed to further increase the energy efficiency of UK homes, 74% of those working in the trades felt that a reduction or removal of current VAT rates on products was key, a figure which rose from 64% in 2022.
Meanwhile, when asked which potential government-led incentives would encourage more homeowners to invest in energy efficient measures, 61% of tradespeople said providing energy efficiency grants for home improvements. The removal of VAT on labour also scored highly at 33%.
Jack Wallace, Marketing Director at Screwfix, said: “With the twin pressures of a cost-of-living crisis and high energy costs, the past twelve months has seen the volume of energy efficiency related jobs undertaken by tradespeople rise significantly – with those surveyed saying over half of all their jobs (54%) are energy efficiency based – up from 38% a year ago.
“Screwfix has an important role to play in ensuring we offer unbeatable value across the innovative products and solutions tradespeople need to help them get their energy efficiency jobs done quickly, affordably, and right first time. And, by sharing their thoughts on this subject, we hope the industry can provide wider support to help in this crucial area.”
For more information, please visit www.screwfix.com
* The 2023 Screwfix Energy Efficiency Survey polled 419 UK tradespeople to understand attitudes towards energy efficiency in the industry.
** The 2022 Screwfix Energy Efficiency Survey surveyed 599 UK tradespeople.
