Current status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01910 by Michael Matheson on 20 August 2021, how much it estimates it will cost (a) on average and (b) in total to bring such properties up to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least band C, in line with its net zero and just transition ambitions.
There is no fixed definition of what a hard to treat home is. As noted in the response to PQ S6W-01910, the average cost of upgrading an off-gas property with an initial EPC rating between bands E and G to an EPC band C could be in the region of £17,000.
As set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy, the cost for an individual dwelling can differ from this average depending on the building type, materials, existing levels of energy efficiency and type of heating systems being replaced.
A broad range of delivery programmes are available to provide advice and financial support to householders, including Home Energy Scotland, Warmer Homes Scotland, and the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme, which offers grant funding of up to £15,000 to assist homeowners with the installation of zero emission heating and energy efficiency measures, as well as additional funding available as an interest free loan. There is an uplift of £1,500 for both the zero emission heating and energy efficiency grants for rural and island homes, meaning rural households can claim up to £18,000 in grant funding.
Around 160,000 of off-gas grid dwellings have an EPC rating of bands E to G, suggesting a total capital cost of around £2.7 bn to upgrade these homes to EPC band C.
The Strategy sets the target of all homes reaching a level of energy efficiency equivalent to EPC C by 2033, but acknowledges that there may be some circumstances where this will not be possible, and that meeting this standard will be predicated on it being technically feasible and cost-effective.