Households across the country will benefit from specialist face-to-face advice on how to make their home more energy efficient and save on their energy bills
- More than 125,000 consumers to receive face-to-face advice on home efficiency upgrades
- new advice services, backed by £20 million of government funding, will help those in hard-to-treat homes and the hard to reach, such as the elderly and those without internet access
- special energy cafes, ‘green doctor’ and a retrofit bus among innovative schemes to help people save on bills
Households across the country will benefit from specialist in-person advice on how to make their home more energy efficient and save on their energy bills.
Backed by £20 million of government funding, 36 pilot services will trial new ways to get expert advice out to those that need it most, with more than 125,000 households to benefit across England.
This will be particularly targeted at those in hard-to-treat homes, such as listed buildings, as well as those who are hard to reach, such as the elderly and people who do not have internet access.
In Birmingham, locals will be able to pop into new energy cafes across the city to find out how to make their homes more efficient. The initiative, backed by over £800,000, aims to make the advice accessible to more people over a friendly chat.
Elsewhere, a new ‘green doctor’, backed by £302,000, will be offering ‘home check-ups’ for older and low-income households in North Yorkshire and Cumbria to advise on which energy efficiency measures would be beneficial in their homes.
This is expected to help more than 19,000 households install retrofit measures, ranging from loft and cavity wall insulation to draught proofing, better heating controls, and new heat pumps.
It forms the latest in a series of support to help households keep their bills down, as part of the government’s efforts to cut inflation.
Other projects to receive funding today include a retrofit electric bus to bring on-the-road energy saving tips to customers around North Yorkshire. While in Lincolnshire, an electric energy van will travel to rural areas of the county to explain how government schemes can help people reduce their energy use.
Schools and community hubs will also be put to use in projects across the country to help pass on energy advice and support for households.
Energy efficiency remains the best approach to reducing fuel poverty in the long-term, contributing to warmer homes and reduced energy bills, while helping to cut carbon emissions.
The new initiative launched today will help households to access these benefits – particularly the elderly and those without internet access, or in listed buildings and rural areas.
This support comes on top of the resources launched earlier this year, including an online Find ways to save energy in your home tool and a new energy efficiency phoneline to help households get quick and accurate information on retrofitting their home.
Households can also access a range of government support for retrofit upgrades to their homes, including the Home Upgrade Grant and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, as well as ECO4 and The Great British Insulation Scheme.
The support forms part of the government’s £6.6 billion energy efficiency drive, with a further £6 billion committed from 2025 to 2028.
The original announcement can be accessed here.
