The annual cost to the NHS of treating winter-related disease due to cold private housing is £859 million. This does not include additional spending by social services, or economic losses through missed work. The total costs to the NHS and the country are unknown. A recent study showed that investing £1 in keeping homes warm saved the NHS 42 pence in health costs. [Chief Medical Officer Report, 2009]
The Energy Savings Trust estimate that the overall total cost of improving to an E band all F and G homes would be £12.5 billion.
If all homes in England were brought up to an EPC E band, 9.4Mt CO2 would be saved, just under 2% of the UK’s net CO2 emissions.
In 2009/2010 there were an estimated 25,400 excess winter deaths.
NHS costs are associated mainly with morbidity rather than mortality, and the Department of Health in 2009 estimated that for every cold-related death there are eight non-fatal hospital admissions. So 25,400 deaths implies 228,600 admissions. The CO2 per admission is 380kg therefore the CO2 associated with all admissions has been calculated as 86,868 tCO2 per annum.
Case study source:
The Health Impacts of Cold Homes and Fuel Poverty
Financial
Cost
The Energy Savings Trust estimate that the overall total cost of improving to an E band all F and G homes would be £12.5 billion according to the report referenced above.
Savings
The annual cost to the NHS of treating winter-related disease due to cold private housing is £859 million. Therefore this is the magnitude of the potential savings that could be achieved through improved insulation.
Carbon
NHS costs are associated mainly with morbidity rather than mortality, and the Department of Health in 2009 estimated that for every cold-related death there are eight non-fatal hospital admissions. So 25,400 deaths implies 228,600 admissions. The CO2 per admission is 380kg therefore the CO2 associated with all admissions has been calculated as 86,868 tCO2 per annum.
Additional Benefits
Over and above the cost savings from treating winter-related illness there are significant social benefits to be had from investing in home insulation. Where meeting high fuel costs results in residual income below the poverty line, improved insulation can reduce fuel bills and reduce poverty. Poverty reduction brings a host of benefits and child poverty is particularly harmful to society.
Investment in home insulation can stimulate the local economy. Domestic insulation is typically carried out by small independent contractors based in the local area. Investing locally has benefits because a significant portion of money invested is retained in the local economy, increasing its over all utility.
Assumptions
All home insulation is deployed at once
Benefits are observed immediately
That the full cost to the NHS of winter-related disease could be addressed in some way by improved insulation (note that the savings are also observed in social care services, for which costs are not estimated).