TV property expert Kevin McCloud has launched a new national campaign aimed at encouraging Britons to make their properties more energy efficient.

Under the new initiative, which has been backed by the Grand Designs Magazine, alongside the Energy Saving Trust, the UK Green Building Council and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the benefits of measures such as fitting double glazing or loft insulation will be highlighted.

The campaign will see the TV personality call on the public to petition the government to do more to help them finance green refurbishments, with Mr McCloud arguing that much more needs to be done if the target of reducing carbon emissions from the residential sector by 80 per cent is to be reached.

Launching the campaign at the Grand Designs Live show in London, he said: "We have a big challenge to explain why this is important; what people can do now and how they can install technologies that have quick paybacks; how professionals, the government and the energy industry might help; how consumers can get more politically involved and who they can go to for expert advice."

This comes soon after BSkyB announced that it is to install a biomass system as well as several wind turbines as it looks to reduce its energy consumption by a third.