Ithuba eligejiwe lokuqala uguquko lokushisisa ikhaya

As the government commits to ‘build back better’ there is also an urgent need to ‘build and retrofit greener’ if the UK is going to meet its carbon emission targets. The current gas crisis has brought home the vulnerability of the nation in terms of future power and heating and we welcome the publication of the Heat and Buildings Strategy. 

The Heat and Buildings Strategy is offering £5,000 to households to install heat pumps, and pledging to invest £60m in heat pump innovation to reduce costs. This is a good start, but only goes part way to solve the problem. The majority of amakhaya in the UK must be made more energy efficient before gas boilers are replaced, otherwise electricity costs faced by households will rocket. After several false starts, government must set out long-term policy to encourage home insulation. 

According to the Climate Change Committee, nearly 11m homes need to move from gas to renewable heat sources by 2035. The government has set a target of installing 600,000 heat pumps each year by 2028 – whilst the number installed is increasing, just 60,000 were installed last year in UK homes.  A major ramp-up of both retrofit and heat pump installation is needed, but we don’t have enough skilled builders and heat onjiniyela ukuhlangabezana nale nselelo. 

Kukhona nje izifaki zephampu yokushisa eziyi-1,000, uma kuqhathaniswa nonjiniyela begesi abangu-96,000 futhi ingxenye encane kuphela yabakhi base-UK egunyazwe ukubuyisela amakhaya. Ngaphandle kokuthuthukiswa kwamakhono okukhulu, kungathatha amakhulu eminyaka, hhayi amashumi eminyaka, ukushintsha indlela esishisisa ngayo amakhaya ethu.  

Uhlelo olunebhongo lokubuyisela imali lungadala amakhulu ezinkulungwane zemisebenzi kubasebenzi abanekhono ezweni lonke - ababazi, abapulasi kanye nabasebenza ngogesi. Sizodinga futhi abasebenzi abangu-36,000 abaxhumanisi bokubuyisela kabusha ukuze siqinisekise Ukugxila umsebenzi wenziwa ngezindinganiso eziqinile zekhwalithi futhi ugweme izinhlekelele zesitayela saseGrenfell. Njengamanje, sino-2% kuphela yenani elidingekayo. 

Ngabasebenzi asebekhulile emkhakheni wokwakha, uguquko lwamakhono aluhlaza lunikeza ithuba lokukhuthaza abesifazane abaningi kanye nabantu abavela kwabaNsundu, abase-Asia kanye nabantu abavela emiphakathini entulayo ukuthi bafune imisebenzi ukwakha ikusasa eliluhlaza.  

UHarriet Lamb, oyi-CEO ye-Ashden, uthe: “Sisanda kubona umthelela yokushoda kwamakhono embonini yokuthutha kanye nenkinga kaphethiloli ewumphumela. Igebe lamakhono abafaki liphinde libe yisithiyo esibalulekile ebesilindele ukuthi Isu Lokushisa Nezakhiwo lisisule. Kunegebe elikhulu phakathi komthamo wamanje wase-UK kanye nomthamo omkhulu womsebenzi odingekayo ukuze kubuyiselwe izindlu, kufakwe amaphampu okushisa futhi kuzuze i-zero carbon ngo-2050.  

“Izinhlangano zamavulandlela ziyakhombisa ukuthi imiphakathi, imikhandlu kanye nezinkampani zezenhlalakahle zingabhekana kanjani nale nselelo kodwa futhi kudingeka ukuthi uhulumeni athathe izinyathelo zesikhathi eside ukuze kugqugquzelwe umkhakha omkhulu, kuzwelonke, ukuze kwakhiwe futhi kubuyiselwe uhlaza. 

“In the run up to COP the government can show true leadership. It’s good for the climate and good for decent jobs and skills, boosting the economy.” 

I-Ashden icela uhulumeni ukuthi atshale imali kwe-Okuqhubeka Umkhakha wezeMfundo to train instructors, develop new courses and provide capital investment in new energy efficiency training facilities and low carbon skills development.  Without the right skills, there is a danger that the quality of installations is compromised risking future Grenfell-style disasters. 

Ashden welcomes the recent amendment of the Skills Bill to include climate education and its focus on the key role of employers. However, we urge that local authorities as well as business must be at the heart of local skills improvement plans – councils have a unique understanding of their communities and can ensure that local people from all backgrounds benefit from new green job opportunities. The government’s commitment to local skills improvement should be backed up with devolved funding. 

Imizamo yangaphambilini yokuthuthukisa amakhono aluhlaza yehlulekile ngenxa yokumisa nokuqala inqubomgomo kahulumeni yokukhulisa isidingo sokubuyiselwa kwamandla kagesi ekhaya kanye nokushisa kwekhabhoni ephansi, kodwa ngeshwa isu le-Heat and Buildings alilibeki isu elicacile lesikhathi eside lemihlomulo nokulawulwa.   

The Clean Heat Grant is a welcome start, though it does not help those living in energy inefficient homes that are not heat pump ready.  We need a retrofitting grant, along with other incentives such as a variable Stamp Duty Land Tax for more efficient homes. This would encourage demand for exciting new financial products that are emerging such as green mortgages. Further regulation is also needed – for example, reform of the planning system and building regulations to enable local authorities to mandate installation of energy efficiency measures backed by adequate funding for building control officers.  

Whilst the government’s social housing decarbonisation fund and local authority delivery schemes have allowed councils to start retrofitting homes for those on low incomes, the Strategy does not provide the long-term funding certainty that would enable the build-up of local supply chains. £3.9bn will only reach a small fraction of the homes that must be made more energy efficient.  Without this, retrofit cannot be delivered at scale, leaving more families having to choose between heating and eating.  

Lelisu alikhulumi futhi nemboni ezimele eqashiwe, enengxenye engaphezu kwengxenye eyodwa kwezintathu yalabo abampofu. Ayikho imininingwane emisha mayelana nokuqaliswa kwemithetho emisha yokulinganisa 'C' Kwesitifiketi Sokusebenza Kwamandla Ngo-2028 futhi awekho amandla amasha emikhandlu okwenza abanikazi bezindlu bathobele. 

Izibonelo zezindlela ezinhle kakhulu zifaka:  

• I-Carbon Co-op, Greater Manchester - ukuletha insizakalo entsha yokubuyisela emuva ejulile - People Powered Retrofit. ICarbon Co-op iqeqeshe izifaki ezingaphezu kuka-200 futhi isebenza eduze neGreater Manchester Combined Authority ukuze ikhulise umsebenzi wayo. 
• Iqembu leKensa, UK-wide - Kensa manufactures and installs ground source heat pumps, providing a solution for decarbonising social housing.  
• Ukushisa kweNordic - I-Heat Academy iyinkundla yokuqeqesha esekela amakhono okushisisa nokupholisa okuluhlaza, asetshenziswa ezweni lonke.   
• I-Retrofit Academy isheshisa ukuqeqeshwa kwabadidiyeli be-retrofit ezweni lonke - inhlangano okwamanje isebenza nabaqeqeshwayo abangu-800. 
• Warmworks Scotland - umkhankaso wobumpofu baphethiloli, usudale abafundi abangaphezu kuka-140 futhi usebenzisa ama-SME ochungechungeni lwawo lokuhlinzeka. Basize amakhaya angama-20,000 kulo lonke elaseScotland ukuthi afudumale, abe nempilo futhi asebenzise amandla kakhudlwana. 

Okuthunyelwe Ithuba eligejiwe lokuqala uguquko lokushisisa ikhaya ivele kuqala Izindaba Zomkhakha Wezokwakha.