Energy Efficiency
6.48 Design and Environmental Impacts - Good housing conditions are essential for both health and decent standards of living. Housing energy efficiency is crucial to reducing the impact that a home has on the use of natural resources and production of greenhouse gases through heating and lighting. Inefficient use of energy resources is not cost-effective for individuals since they will pay higher energy bills, nor is it desirable or sustainable from an environmental perspective. Design and environmental quality of new housing is crucial to promoting sustainable development, reduction of greenhouse gas emission and the long term benefits on quality of life that this can bring. There are clear links between poor quality housing, poverty, surrounding environmental conditions and health. Good Housing design can also significantly reduce burglary, criminal damage, car crime and maintenance costs.
6.49 The English House Condition Survey describes energy efficiency in terms of an energy cost rating measured in accordance to the Government's Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). This rating takes into account dwelling type (with terraced housing generally being more energy efficient than detached housing) as well as construction materials, type of heating system and the presence of insulation. The lower the SAP rating, the more likely households are to experience difficulties in heating their homes.
6.50 In 2003 dwellings in the South West were less energy efficient than the average for England. At 49.3, the energy cost rating of dwellings in the South West was lower than the England average (51.4); with social housing performing better than private sector housing (48.2 compared to 56.2) on this measure.
6.51 Just over 14% of homes in the South West were estimated to have a low energy efficiency rating in 2003, which marks only a very slight improvement on the 2001 rating. The proportion of South West homes without programmable or central heating was not found to be statistically different from that for England as a whole.