Conservative plan to encourage greener living

Those planning to renovate their homes to make them more eco-friendly could have a new reason to do so if the Conservatives win the next election.

Party leader David Cameron has announced in a speech on green issues today that the party would introduce a new policy to allow householders to find out how much their neighbours spend on energy bills.

Mr Cameron's plan is to create a situation where people can compare their bills with those of others nearby, therefore prompting those who are spending more to take action to raise the energy efficiency of their homes in order to lower their costs to the same level or lower still.

He stated: "If we find out that our neighbours, or households similar to ours, are using half as much energy as we are, then we're much more likely to bring our own consumption down in line."

Renovations such as adding double glazing or insulation could help reduce energy consumption.

Mr Cameron also pledged to introduce a feed-in tariff system to guarantee people are paid for electricity produced by microrenewable energy devices installed at home, following what he said was a successful implementation of such a policy in Germany.

Earlier this month Element Energy consultants produced a report for the government which called for such tariffs to be introduced, the Evening Gazette reported.