More than half of jobs carried out by tradespeople are ‘geared towards energy saving’

More than half (54 per cent) of all jobs being carried out by UK tradespeople over the past year have had an energy saving focus, up by a third when compared to 2022, a Screwfix survey has found.

More than 400 tradespeople took part in the latest survey, with 86 per cent saying that homeowners were motivated to switch to energy saving products to save money on their bills. Just over a third (36 per cent) said their main reason was to help tackle climate change.

When questioned on what type of energy efficiency jobs tradespeople were carrying out, energy saving lighting topped the list at 44 per cent, followed by smart thermostats (26 per cent), while loft insulation and new radiators followed closely behind with 25 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively.

When asked what else is needed to increase the energy efficiency of UK homes, 74 per cent of those working in the trades felt that a reduction or removal of current VAT rates on products was key, an increase from the 64 per cent figure in 2022.

When asked which potential government-led incentives would encourage more homeowners to invest in energy efficient measures, 61 per cent of tradespeople said providing energy efficiency grants for home improvements. The removal of VAT on labour also scored highly at 33 per cent.

Jack Wallace, Marketing Director at Screwfix, said: “With the twin pressures of a cost-of-living crisis and high energy costs, the past 12 months has seen the volume of energy efficiency related jobs undertaken by tradespeople rise significantly – with those surveyed saying over half of all their jobs (54 per cent) are energy efficiency based – up from 38 per cent a year ago.”