According to a new study conducted by the Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Group, seven out of eight buyers find energy efficiency insignificant.
In turn this means that one in eight (13%) claimed that energy efficiency was something they seriously considered when they bought their property.
The most recent generation of homeowners are found to have more consideration about energy efficiency with the figure standing at 29% of those aged 18-34.
Finding from the EEIG study demonstrates that there is a fundamental lack of engagement by the public with household energy efficiency. Despite that a fifth of all UK carbon emissions and 35% of the UK’s energy use comes from households, this is something that the public do not seem to be interested in.
The EEIG research, which questioned 2,000 adults, has also shown that although there are national energy supply concerns and increasing energy bills, it appears that only one in six owners have serious plans to improve the energy efficiency of their home in the next 5 years.
Regionally, the West Midlands and London are at the top in relation to how many people were planning on tackling the energy consumption in their home.
David Adams, EEIG spokesperson, says: “Even with worries about energy supply, rocketing energy bills and climate change in the press daily, it’s clear from our research this isn’t prompting the magnitude of demand for home energy performance improvements necessary to solve these problems.
“Clearly, government intervention is necessary to change this trajectory, but so far short-term initiatives have failed to deliver the kind of sustained take up necessary.
"In the absence of any other viable approach to stimulate and support owner occupiers to act at scale, the EEIG is advocating for the government to deliver a green stamp duty incentive.
“This will make energy efficient homes cheaper to buy and will remind those who are buying a lower performing home of the improvements that are likely to be necessary during their period of ownership. It will also encourage people to start thinking about potential improvements to their homes at the time of purchase and plan ahead to realise the rebate.
“It’s necessary that this type of policy is adopted rapidly to be fair to homeowners and to give the government the chance to reach its target of a 78 per cent reduction of UK greenhouse emissions by 2035.”