Will more Britons turn to DIY and home improvements to reduce energy bills?

With household finances in the UK facing a growing squeeze as a result of sluggish pay growth and inflation, will more people look at ways of enhancing their homes.

Investing in green home improvements could offer a means to drive down readings on home energy monitors and cut bills.

A recent report by Global Industry Analysts (GIA) has predicted that the global market for DIY and home improvement products will soar to $716.2 billion by 2015.

Britons exploring ways to reduce their impact on the environment along with their energy consumption could be interested to learn that GIA expects the sector to be driven by more easy to use products, a growing DIY culture and the end of the global recession over the next few years.

According to the California-based company, home improvements are central to the market for DIY solutions and could include those that improve the sustainability of properties.

Enhancements such as loft and cavity wall insulation or putting in more energy efficient radiators could help to alleviate pressure on household budgets in the long run.

This could be more importance than ever as recent data from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has indicated a decline in the proportion of national output being spent on wages.

According to the organisation, the amount being taken home in today's money by employees in the UK has plummeted by £60 billion in the past three decades.

The TUC's new Extra pamphlet All In this Together? Examines the real-terms pay cuts received by Britain's workers and warns that the current economic climate is having an impact on many people with the continuing weakness potentially lowering working conditions permanently.

Earnings declined from 4.2 per cent in 2007 to 1.7 per cent in 2009, while wages have not picked up in the past two years, with 99 per cent of pay deals falling below retail price inflation, emphasising the need for households to look at ways of saving money.