Universal Credit (UC) and the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are just two of many reforms that the coalition has put through in this parliament. While both UC and PIP have been thoroughly scrutinised by the media (including yours truly) and by academics, equally large reforms have received far less attention. One such is the Green Deal, which replaces a number of other fuel poverty initiatives. According to The Independent, the government has cut fuel-poverty funding for families by 27 per cent since coming to power, and Britain is now bottom of the league table in Western Europe for fuel poverty – 19.2 households in the Britain are in fuel poverty compared with, say, the Netherlands where the figure is 8.1%.

The government says the purpose of the Green Deal is threefold – to curb the rise in carbon emissions, to boost economic growth AND to lift people out of fuel poverty. It’s a  tall order –  will it really be able to address any or all of these problems?

This is an important question. But one we can’t answer with any confidence because there are so many variables.  It is not just take-up levels, but also behaviour patterns (different people have different habits, aspirations, attitudes to energy use) and this is compounded by different types of housing – a draughty Victorian house may eat up more energy than a well insulated modern home, and the attitudes and behaviours of people within these different types of homes may vary.

The elderly are entitled to a winter fuel payment and most of the discussion about fuel poverty has focused on this group.  But anyone else who finds the costs of electricity and gas daunting  (a household is considered to be in fuel poverty if more than 10 per cent of its total income is spent on adequate heating) will be directed to the Green Deal for improvements to their accommodation such as insulation, improved boilers and solar panels.  But what is the most effective way to reduce fuel consumption?  what measures will save households most money?  Who is most likely to apply for Green Deal funding?  At the moment we just don’t know.  But it will be vital to find out, not only to reduce fuel poverty but also because without these answers, it will be more difficult to achieve the other targets of the Green Deal, such as reduced emissions.

It is therefore good to discover that the University of Salford is going to do some rigorous research to find out just how effective the different types of technologies are at reducing fuel poverty and carbon emissions.  They are going to study energy use in households in Greater Manchester as part of a programme funded by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Working with DECC, researchers from the University’s Applied Buildings and Energy Research Group will gather a wide range of data – from the use of sensors to understand living conditions and energy use, to soft issues of how people use and understand their homes. The homes, which are currently being selected, will be both private and social housing, covering property types from 1750 to modern builds.

Interim results will be available from March and the results will be used to create a standardised model that the DECC can use to evaluate the effectiveness of the different measures available under the Green Deal.

If you want to find out more about the green deal you can get free advice by calling the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234 or by visiting www.gov.uk/greendeal. Alternatively ‘Which?’, the consumer advisory magazine, has produced a video on the potential perils of the green deal process for consumers available at: http://www.which.co.uk/energy/creating-an-energy-saving-home/guides/the-green-deal-explained/what-is-the-green-deal / .