The Rt. Hon. Claire Perry visits Q-Bot to announce the consultation for ECO 3

Q-Bot hosted the Rt. Hon. Claire Perry, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) last Thursday in preparation for the Government’s announcement of the consultation for the new Energy Company Obligation (ECO 3).

BEIS are seeking feedback on ECO 3, the government’s flagship scheme for reducing fuel poverty and ensuring affordable warmth. The proposed changes include a greater role for innovation in reducing energy bills of some of the UK’s worst performing homes, and where better to see innovation in energy efficiency than Q-Bot’s labs in Wandsworth. Claire Perry tried using Q-Bot’s robots first hand, even applying insulation under the test floor in the workshop.

I visited @QBot_UK, the innovative insulating robot to check out how tech will help people living in fuel poverty save money on their energy bills under new government proposals. The consultation is on the Energy Company Obligation scheme. #CleanGrowth @beisgovuk pic.twitter.com/gHXwQaSBg3 

— Claire Perry (@claireperrymp) March 30, 2018

Mathew Holloway: "The UK has among the lowest energy prices in Europe but also some of the highest bills, as our homes are so inefficient. With the life span of buildings in tens, or hundreds of years, this makes decisions about their future critical, but often outside our own horizons. This is why leadership from government is so important in order to set a long-term strategy, and why schemes like ECO 3 are crucial to ensure this happens. The other key barriers, disruption and cost, are where innovation can play its part. New services such as those developed by Q-Bot reduce cost and eliminate the practical issues, enabling a future where all our homes can be comfortable and warm."

ECO 3 is scheduled to start in September 2018 with an expenditure of £640,000,000 per year allocated to insulation measures targeted at the least efficient homes that mean their inhabitants are more likely to be in fuel poverty. Since Q-Bot has developed a novel insulation method for older, inefficient dwellings that halves the insulation costs of solid wall properties the company is ideally placed to help deliver this flagship program.