More ‘great’ news for Britain’s beleaguered homeowners this week – apparently, making your home energy efficient enough to meet the UK Government’s carbon emission reduction targets is likely to cost anything up to £15,000.

This latest cheery message comes from the Committee on Climate Change, and it follows the reported “40 per cent” hike in household energy bills (expected we are told in 2010) against a backdrop of a rubbish property market (with growing numbers of people experiencing negative equity) and, of course, (as if that wasn’t enough) the global recession.

We’ve not yet examined in detail the data that leads to the “£15,000” headlines, but there is potentially an equally valid and more optimistic spin on this obviously newsworthy statistic for those like us that want to dig a little deeper.

Yes, there is no escaping the need to ‘invest’ in ‘zero-ing’ your home. And let’s be clear, we absolutely have to face up to that worthwhile truth. But, once completed, there is a potential return on investment. For example, householders who invest in energy generation technology such as solar panels, wind turbines or ground heat extraction solutions, will be able to ‘sell’ surplus energy back to the National Grid thanks to a special feed-in tariff that will come into play across the UK energy utility landscape from April 2010.

Other simple and relatively cheap actions, such as using more low-energy consumption products and appliances, coupled with things like installing more insulation/super-insulation materials, can increase the pay back on this initial outlay – and reduce energy bills. Plus, in the bigger scheme of things, everyone who makes a real effort is in turn making a positive global impact, which at worst is something to smile about.

The problem is, of course, the timeline for such an investment to pay back and deliver a positive return is variable due to a number of factors and it could take several years – BUT (and this is a good ‘but’) with the property market in such a slump, there is the very real chance that homeowners will be staying put for longer.

Surely this growing mass of ‘home improvers’ rather than ‘home movers’ represents a great opportunity for Government and all of us involved in the climate change agenda? Hopefully, the aforementioned ‘watchdog’ among others is watching this space…