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Bank to pay homeowners £2,000 to make house more energy efficient

Seen from Bathwick Hill are foreground terraced homes at Dunsford Place on Bathwick Hill and in the distance, a cityscape of hillside properties around the city of Bath, on 19th February 2022, in Bath, England. The spa city of Bath was in the Roman period known as Aquae Sulis (
A bank has said it will pay homeowners to make efficiency improvements to their properties. (Getty Images)

Millions of people will face higher gas and electricity bills following chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement.

From April next year, the energy price cap will be lifted from the current £2,500 to £3,000 a year, taking bills to nearly 2.5 times what the average household was paying at the start of 2022.

It means Britons will be continuing to look for ways to reduce their energy consumption - especially as 47% are finding it "very or somewhat difficult" to pay their bills, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

The government energy price guarantee at its current level expires in April 2023 (Yahoo News UK/Flourish)
The government energy price guarantee at its current level expires in April 2023 (Yahoo News UK/Flourish)

Against this backdrop, one mortgage lender has said it will actually pay homeowners to help make their properties more green and efficient.

Barclays has said it is trialling a “test and learn” initiative in which it gives people up to £2,000 to make specific improvements.

Watch: Average energy bill to rise to £3,000 a year from April under government ‘guarantee’

However, it should be noted that the top payment of £2,000 is for improvements that are inaccessible for most people.

It will only give this amount for low carbon heating measures such as air and ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers. And prices for these start at £9,000 and £11,000 respectively.

Barclays will pay £1,000 for measures such as solar electricity panels and solid wall insulation - though these are still very expensive, starting at £3,000 and £8,500 respectively.

Read more: The one word Jeremy Hunt didn't mention that affects millions of parents

More affordable are the measures it will contribute £500 to, including loft insulation (£530) and floor insulation (£1,200).

Elsewhere, a simple way to reduce household consumption is to be aware of the appliances that will cost the most to run over a year.

Recent Which? research, for example, found a tumble dryer is the most expensive to run at an average £170 each year, with a free standing fridge freezer second at £102 and a dishwasher third at £96.