Support for green finance and messengers among UK homeowners

This report presents findings from quantitative research among UK homeowners on their willingness to borrow green loans to pay for decarbonising their homes. The research also looked at which sources of information UK homeowners trust for advice on different aspects of home decarbonisation.

Support for green finance and trusted messengers among UK homeowners: quantitative research 
 
  Ref: RAF071/2324 


  PDF  ,  304 KB ,  21 pages

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (2024) 
RAF071/2324 
Support for green finance 
and trusted messengers 
among UK homeowners 
Quantitative research 
Completed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero prior to the 
general election in the United Kingdom in July 2024. As such, any references 
to government policies, commitments, or initiatives may reflect the stance of 
the previous administration and were accurate at the time of fieldwork and 
writing. 
 
 

 
 
Acknowledgements 
Thank you to the Ipsos UK Public Affairs team for quality assuring this report. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Views expressed in this report are those of the researcher and not necessarily those of the UK 
Government. 
© Crown copyright 2024. 
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. 
To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3. 
Where we have identified any third-party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the 
copyright holders concerned. 

 
3 
Contents 
Executive summary __________________________________________________________ 4 
Green finance _____________________________________________________________ 4 
Trusted messengers _______________________________________________________ 4 
Introduction ________________________________________________________________ 5 
Methodology ______________________________________________________________ 5 
Results ____________________________________________________________________ 6 
Green finance _____________________________________________________________ 6 
Green finance willingness __________________________________________________ 6 
Green finance willingness by income _________________________________________ 7 
Green finance willingness by age ____________________________________________ 8 
Green finance willingness with and without matched funding ______________________ 9 
Trusted messengers ______________________________________________________ 11 
Bill reduction ___________________________________________________________ 11 
Which measure to install _________________________________________________ 12 
Which tradesperson to choose _____________________________________________ 13 
Planning permission _____________________________________________________ 14 
Government funding _____________________________________________________ 15 
Private funding _________________________________________________________ 16 
Appendix _________________________________________________________________ 17 
Additional details on methodology ____________________________________________ 17 
Question module _________________________________________________________ 18 
 

Support for green finance and trusted messengers among UK homeowners 
4 
Executive summary 
We commissioned research among 876 UK owner-occupiers (adults who own the properties 
they occupy, either outright or on a mortgage). These respondents were asked questions 
regarding their willingness to use green loans and grants to help them decarbonise their 
homes, and which sources of information they trust for advice on decarbonising their homes. 
Primary findings from this research include: 
Green finance 
Half of owner-occupiers were not considering making home energy performance 
improvements. 26% were considering making improvements, but not willing to take a green 
loan to do so. 19% of owner-occupiers were willing to take a green loan to make 
improvements. 
Owner-occupiers were more likely to say they were willing to take a green loan if they were: in 
households with annual incomes above £52,000, working full-time, graduates, male, or aged 
25–44. 
When owner-occupiers were presented with the hypothetical option of a government grant that 
would match the amount they borrowed through a green loan, twice as many said they would 
be willing to borrow. 
Trusted messengers 
More owner-occupiers selected government advice services as a trusted messenger than any 
other source for advice on: government green finance, private green finance, how to reduce 
energy bills, energy performance measures, and which tradesperson to use. 
More owner-occupiers selected local authorities or councils as a trusted messenger for 
planning permission support than any other source. 
 
 

Support for green finance and trusted messengers among UK homeowners 
5 
Introduction 
One fifth of UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions were from buildings and products in 
2022.1 Of t

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