What cost of living crisis? Why Elliott pays absolutely nothing to power his home

Elliott Wood has thing you're astir apt going to want.

Like astir of us, each period helium gets a measure for his monthly vigor use.

Only his bill… is free.

He's surviving successful a caller breed of "zero bills" homes, which comes with star panels, vigor pumps and batteries.

Together, that exertion generates much energy than Elliot uses.

When combined with the close tariff - successful his lawsuit a zero bills tariff with Octopus Energy - the excess energy is sold backmost to the grid, and his measure comes successful astatine a princely sum of £0 a month.

"It's amazing… you conscionable don't person to worry," says 26-year-old Elliott, who lives successful a one-bedroom rental location with his spouse successful Milton Keynes.

"There is nary accent astatine the extremity of each month, [wondering] 'have we had excessively galore showers, has the heating been connected excessively much, person we utilized the microwave excessively galore times?'"

The zero bills strategy does travel with a fewer caveats: the tariff is lone guaranteed for 5 to 10 years, and it doesn't see electrical conveyance charging.

But Octopus estimates it volition prevention an mean household of 2 to 3 beds astir £1,758 a twelvemonth connected bills, based connected existent Ofgem terms headdress rates.

Now for the atrocious news…

But lone a fewer 100 of these homes are up and running, meaning for astir of us, the zero measure location remains a tube dream.

In information Britain has immoderate of the astir leaky, drafty and state reliant homes successful Western Europe - and that's a large vulnerability.

Approximately 85% of homes trust connected state for heating, much than fractional of which we import, lone for immoderate of that hard enactment to spell to discarded arsenic the vigor drifts retired done uninsulated Victorian brickwork.

That means cold, damp homes that are costly to run, leaving a staggering 2.7m UK households surviving successful substance poverty.

Housing and buildings are besides the 2nd biggest polluting assemblage successful the UK, aft transport, thing that indispensable autumn if the state is to deed its clime targets.

Quest to upgrade Britain's homes

The authorities aims to tackle each these problems successful 1 fell swoop.

Its long-awaited Warm Homes program published connected Wednesday is designed to upgrade homes to marque them cheaper, amended and warmer.

The £14.7bn strategy volition wage for measures similar insulation, star panels, batteries, and vigor pumps that tin little bills and chopped state use.

These won't spot bills falls to zero, similar Elliott's, but ministers accidental it could slash immoderate bills by respective 100 pounds.

Ministers says the program volition upgrade 5 cardinal homes and assistance "up to" 1 cardinal families retired of substance poorness by 2030.

If done well, upgrading homes is an effectual mode to slash bills and trim damp, and campaigners and manufacture person broadly welcomed the idea.

But erstwhile attempts to upgrade homes person tried and failed. It's not wide however officials tin enforce landlords to upgrade properties, oregon who to spot to insulate homes, oregon whether energy costs volition travel down capable to genuinely reap the benefits of a vigor pump.

Energy UK's CEO Dhara Vyas said: "Supporting amended entree to cleanable vigor systems, star panels, batteries, and insulation volition assistance millions of households crossed the UK bring down their vigor bills.

But she said to "ensure the program realises its afloat potential, it volition beryllium important to tackle the factors that presently marque energy artificially expensive."

The cardinal to the outgo of surviving crisis?

As much radical get disconnected state heating and connected to electrical vigor pumps, it should besides trim the UK's imports of gas.

The authorities sees a geopolitical worth successful weaning the state disconnected state it has to bargain from abroad, arsenic opposed to cleanable powerfulness it tin harness astatine location - albeit utilizing Chinese components.

First it wanted to trim reliance connected Russia, but present adjacent buying state from the US has taken connected a caller hazard with a little predictable president successful the White House. No 1 successful authorities would accidental that retired loud, yet, but who knows what levers Donald Trump mightiness propulsion connected Europe to get his mode connected Greenland.

And portion reducing vigor imports is bully for security, there's a hazard that with less radical paying state bills, those near volition enarthrosis higher costs to support the strategy running.

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On apical of that, the Warm Homes program is inactive conscionable a program - and erstwhile attempts to present person failed.

But the authorities has staked its estimation connected easing the outgo of surviving and slashing household bills.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "This is simply a authorities bearing down connected the cost-of-living crisis… giving radical the information and the just changeable they request to get connected successful life."

That assertion volition beryllium judged mostly connected whether this caller program to upgrade homes sinks oregon swims.