National statistics

Chapter 5: Energy efficiency

Published 14 December 2023

Applies to England

Introduction

This chapter discusses energy efficiency ratings and heating systems by tenure. It then goes onto insulation measures in dwellings before finishing off with smart meters by tenure and subjective overheating.

For an introduction and summary of main findings in this report as a whole, please see the Introduction and Key Findings page.

Energy efficiency rating

The Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) is used to monitor the energy efficiency of homes. It is an index based on calculating annual space and water heating costs for a standard heating regime and is expressed on a scale of 1 (highly inefficient) to 100 (highly efficient, with 100 representing zero energy costs). Findings presented in this report were calculated using Reduced Data SAP (RdSAP) version 9.93. 

As mentioned elsewhere in this publication, the English Housing Survey physical data aggregates two years of the survey for analysis. Dwelling data from 2022-23 saw full inspections but the 2021-22 data collection year were impacted by COVID-19 restrictions so include observations from our modified ‘external plus’ inspections and modelled variables. Some physical data on energy efficiency could not be collected as it relies on a surveyor’s assessment of the inside of a home. Instead, respondents were asked for details of items usually captured by the survey. Where the data were missing (i.e. loft insulation was present but there was no data on insulation thickness), the EHS model imputed default values, consistent with the approach used in a full survey year (see the Technical Report for more details). 

The energy efficiency of the English housing stock has continued to improve. In 2022, the average SAP rating of English dwellings was 67 points, up from 45 points in 1996, Annex Table 5.1. This longer-term upward trend was evident in all tenures and largely driven by improvements in the prevalence of the most common energy efficiency measures across the stock, particularly cavity wall insulation, boiler upgrades from standard to condensing combi and full double glazing, Annex Table 5.1.

In 2022, the social sector had the highest mean SAP rating of the tenures with 70, with a slight divergence between housing associations (71) and local authorities (70). This has moved the average home in the social rented sector from a band D to a band C. Owner occupied dwellings averaged a rating of 66 and private rented dwellings scored the lowest at 65, both within the band D category. This is not surprising given the age and type of dwellings in the private sector. The social sector contains a higher proportion of purpose built flats compared to the private sector, which have less exposed surface area (external walls and roofs) through which heat can be lost, Figure 5.1. 

Figure 5.1: Mean SAP rating, by tenure, 1996 to 2022

^{Base: 1996-2019 and 2022, All dwellings; 2020-2021, Occupied dwellings
Notes:
1) 2010-2012 uses SAP09
2) 2013-2018 uses SAP12. In 2018 RdSAP changed to version 9.93 and improvements were made to the modelling, which has led to a larger increase in the mean SAP rating compared to previous years.
3) underlying data are presented in Annex Table 5.1
Sources:
1996-2007: English House Condition Survey, dwelling sample
2008-2019: English Housing Survey, dwelling sample
2020-2021: English Housing Survey, modelled data based on occupied dwellings
2022: English Housing survey dwelling sample}

The proportion of dwellings in the highest SAP energy efficiency rating (EER) bands A to C increased between 2012 and 2022 from 19% to 48%. The social rented sector saw the largest increase from 36% in 2012 to 70% in 2022, Annex Table 5.2. 

Although the average SAP ratings for owner occupied and private rented dwellings were similar, the distribution across the EER bands varied. The most common band for owner occupiers was band D (46%) compared with 43% of private rented dwellings. There was also a higher proportion of dwellings in the lowest two bands in the private rented sector, (3% in F and 1% in G) compared with other tenures, Figure 5.2. 

Figure 5.2: Energy efficiency rating bands for dwellings, by tenure, 2022

^{Base: all dwellings
Notes:
1) underlying data are presented in Annex Table 5.2
Source: English Housing Survey, dwelling sample}

Heating system

There are two key methods of increasing the energy efficiency of existing dwellings: upgrading the dwelling’s heating system and increasing insulation.  

The main heating system in properties has remained consistent over the past 10 years. In 2022, 92% (22 million dwellings) had central heating and 5% (1 million dwellings) used storage heaters, Annex Table 5.3.

While just 3% (761,000 dwellings) of all housing stock in England used a portable heater as their main heating source, this is the least cost-effective and most inefficient method of heating. More dwellings in the private rented sector used a fixed room or portable heater (7%) than those the social sector and owner occupied homes (both 2%), Annex Table 5.4.

Figure 5.3: Boiler types, 1996 to 2022

^{Base: 2011-2019 and 2022, All dwellings; 2020-2021, Occupied dwellings
Notes:
1) Condensing and condensing-combination boilers were rare in 1996, so data collection did not start until 2001
2) Underlying data are presented in Annex Table 5.5
Sources:
1996-2007: English House Condition Survey, dwelling sample
2008-2019: English Housing Survey, dwelling sample
2020-2021: English Housing Survey, modelled data based on occupied dwellings
2022: English Housing Survey, dwelling sample}

When looking across tenures however, in 2022, owner occupied dwellings are more likely to have a standard boiler (7%) than private or social rented dwellings (5% and 1%). Private rented dwellings were more likely to have no boiler at all (19%) compared to those that were owner occupied (7%) or social rented (16%). Dwellings in the social rented sector were more likely to have newer, more efficient condensing-combination boilers (69%) compared to owner occupied or private rented dwellings (60% and 62% respectively. This may reflect the age and type of dwellings across tenures, Annex Table 5.6.

Insulation

The second main method of increasing a dwelling’s energy performance is by increasing or improving insulation. Standard insulation measures include cavity or solid wall insulation, loft insulation and double glazing. Installation of these measures has increased in the last 10 years.

In 2022, 88% of homes in England had full double glazing, up from 79% of homes in 2012. Just over half (52%) of dwellings had cavity or solid wall insulation (up from 45% in 2012) and 38% had 200mm or more of loft insulation (up from 34% in 2012), Figure 5.4 and Annex Table 5.7.

Figure 5.4: Insulation measures in dwellings, 2012 to 2022

^{Base: 2011-2019 and 2022, All dwellings; 2020-2021, Occupied dwellings
Notes:
1) Percentages are based on all dwellings, including those with no loft or other wall type.
2) Underlying data are presented in Annex Table 5.7. See footnotes in this table for further detail on methodology for cavity and solid wall insulation.
Sources:
2011-2019: English Housing Survey, dwelling sample
2020-2021: English Housing Survey, dwelling sample
2022: English Housing Survey, dwelling sample}

Looking at dwellings with predominantly cavity or solid walls, in 2022, 70% of such dwellings had insulation compared with only 10% of dwellings with predominantly solid walls, Annex Table 5.8.

Among dwellings with solid walls, the social rented sector had a higher proportion with solid wall insulation (26%) than both private rented (9%) and owner occupied dwellings (8%).

Among dwellings with cavity walls, private rented dwellings had a lower proportion of dwellings with cavity insulation (60%) than other tenures (71% of owner occupied dwellings and 78% of social rented dwellings), Figure 5.5.

Figure 5.5: Wall insulation in dwellings, by main wall type and tenure, 2022

^{Base: occupied dwellings with predominantly cavity walls (green); occupied dwellings with predominantly solid walls (blue)
Note: underlying data are presented in Annex Table 5.8
Source:
2020-2021: English Housing Survey, modelled data based on occupied dwellings
2022: English Housing Survey, dwelling sample English Housing Survey, dwelling sample}

Smart meters and electricity payment methods

The replacement of traditional meters with smart meters is a national infrastructure upgrade that will make the country’s energy system cheaper, cleaner and more reliable. Smart meters are the next generation of meters and offer a range of intelligent functions. For example, they can tell residents how much energy they are using in pounds and pence via an In-Home Display. This information helps customers manage their energy use, save money and reduce emissions. Smart meters communicate automatically with energy suppliers, which avoids manual meter reads and provides customers with accurate bills.

The English Housing Survey asks residents whether they have a smart meter. This section of the report is based on the resident being asked whether they have a smart meter in their home and focusses on electricity meters only.

In 2022-23, over half of households in England reported having an electricity smart meter (53% or 13 million households), this represents an increase compared with 2021-22 (45%).

Owner occupiers and social renters were more likely to report having an electricity smart meter (56% and 53% respectively) compared to private renters (43%), Figure 5.6.

Figure 5.6: Electricity smart meters, 2022-23

^{Base: all households
Notes:
1) self reported presence of electric smart meters
2) underlying data are presented in Annex Table 5.9
Source: English Housing Survey, full household}

Residents who paid for their electricity by direct debit or pre-payment token (both 55%) were more likely to report having an electricity smart meter than residents who paid on receipt of the bill (43%) or other methods (28%) e.g. included in the rent, fixed annual bill, Annex Table 5.9.

The EHS results are broadly in line with smart meter statistics from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). As at 1 April 2022, 53% of domestic properties had an electric smart meter. Differences between EHS and DESNZ statistics are likely to reflect the different time periods for data collection and the EHS survey relies on self-reporting.

Subjective overheating

The English Housing Survey includes a subjective measure for gauging whether residents feel that any part of their home gets uncomfortably hot and, if so, which parts. The EHS also collects data on the potential risk of harm from excessively high indoor temperatures as part of the HHSRS though, due to the small numbers of dwellings meeting this threshold, these figures are not reported here. 

In 2022, 11% of residents reported that at least one part of their home got uncomfortably hot. This was an increase from 2021, where it was 9%.

Those in the owner occupied sector, (11%) were more likely to report that at least part of their home got uncomfortably hot than those in the private and social rented sectors (both 9%).

In terms of dwelling type, a higher percentage of those in detached houses (14%) reported overheating in their homes, compared with only 7% in small terraced houses and 10% in low-rise flats, Annex Table 5.10.

Residents in newer homes were more likely to report overheating than those in older homes. Older homes can be more difficult and costly to insulate compared to new homes.

In 2022, 12% of residents in homes built from 2003 onwards reported that at least one part of their home got uncomfortably hot. This was a higher proportion than for those in homes built between 1919 and 1944 (9%).

Technical notes and glossary

For technical information regarding caveats in this report, please see the technical note.

For a detailed glossary of terms please see the glossary.