Energy Efficiency Advice For The Home

Carbon emissions (CO₂) from households account for around 27% of the total CO₂ released in the UK. Reducing household energy consumption is central to efforts to reduce climate change, and will also help reduce household energy bills.

There are lots of simple ways to make your home more energy efficient and to save money as a result. Are you thinking about getting some insulation or glazing? Or perhaps you are looking for some energy efficient lighting or appliances.

Energy Saving Tips

Some simple energy saving measures:

1. Turn thermostat down by 1°C - this could cut your heating bills by up to 10%, and save you money each year.
2. Close curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
3. Check for draughts around windows and doors and eliminate wasted heat by installing a cheap, easy-to-fix brush or PVC seal on your exterior doors. Letterboxes and keyholes should be covered too.
4. Install draught proofing yourself. Stop draughts and heat escaping by filling gaps under skirting boards with beading or mastic sealant. That'll save around £20 off your heating bills every year!
5. Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.
6. Switch to energy saving light bulbs. They last around 10 times longer than ordinary light bulbs, and each bulb you fit could save around £40 over its lifetime.
7. Insulate your hot water tank with a jacket. It only costs a few pounds and pays for itself within months. Fit one that's at least 75mm (3") thick and you could save around £35 a year.
8. Insulating an empty loft can save you around £150 a year, or £45 if you're topping up.
9. Around a third of the heat lost in an uninsulated home is through the walls. Not all buildings are suitable, but if your home was built between the 1920s and 1990s, then it could be a candidate for cavity wall insulation. You could save up to £115 on your annual heating bills!
10. Switch to a high-efficiency boiler. If your boiler is over 15 years old, it's probably time to replace it. Replacing your old boiler with a new A rated condensing model with a full set of heating controls, will save you up to a quarter on your heating bills straight away.
11. Don't leave appliances on standby, and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily - this could save around £40 per year on energy bills.

|Read the latest Government advice on ways to saving money on your gas and electricity bills and cutting energy use.

Energy Efficiency Initiatives

Action Surrey: The Council has joined forces with |Action Surrey, a community-led organisation helping homeowners, across Surrey, to reduce their energy bills and their energy consumption. Action Surrey provides impartial and practical energy advice, discounted insulation, a local and trusted installer network for renewable technology and case studies of residents who have been there and done it. Action Surrey offer discounted loft and cavity wall insulation, and free insulation for those on certain benefits or who are 70 years old or more. For more information please call 0800 783 2503 or visit |Action Surrey

If you are not sure which energy efficiency measures are suitable for your home, and you would like a Free Home Energy Audit, |please contact Action Surrey. Once a visit has been made, energy efficiency measures will be recommended to you which will provide you with the most appropriate cost savings and energy savings. With your agreement, we can also refer you to trusted organisations who will look to install energy saving measures in your home, either free of charge or at discounted prices. If you are a tenant, please note that it will usually be necessary to have your landlord's agreement to install energy saving measures in your home.

Alternatively, to find out more information on energy efficient measures for your home, book a free tour around |Action Surrey's Energy Efficient House 'Oak Tree House'.

Why not volunteer to become a Home Energy Auditor? If you would like to become more involved, Elmbridge Borough Council, in partnership with Action Surrey are recruiting enthusiastic volunteers, and providing free training on home energy auditing. Volunteers will be trained to provide advice on energy efficiency measures to residents who express an interest in reducing their homes energy consumption. All volunteers will have to undergo a CRB check before undertaking an Audit. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, then please contact Action Surrey on 0800 783 2503 or visit the |Action Surrey website.

Warm Front Grants: The |Warm Front scheme provides heating and insulation improvements to households on certain income-related benefits living in properties that are poorly insulated and/or do not have a working central heating system. To find out more then please call on 0800 316 2805. Qualifying households can get improvements worth up to £3,500 (£6,000 where oil central heating and other alternative technologies are recommended). Grants are available for improvements such as:

• loft insulation
• draught proofing
• cavity wall insulation
• hot water tank insulation
• gas, electric, liquid petroleum gas or oil heating
• glass-fronted fire

HeatSeekers: The HeatSeekers team has taken thermal images of homes in four wards within the Borough, Weybridge (North & South) Thames Ditton, and Long Ditton on cold nights to see if heat is being lost through walls and roofs. If the image indicates that heat is potentially being lost and that the property could benefit from improved insulation, the team will send a letter and offer to come and do a free check to see if insulation is needed. If it is, you can choose to have HeatSeekers come and install subsidised loft and/or cavity wall insulation - the cost for each measure for an average house is £149. People on certain benefits or over 70 are entitled to free insulation and you will be told if this applies to you. If you live in one of the above wards, you don't need to wait for a letter. If you think you need insulation then just visit the |HeatSeekers website.

Warmth for 1000: Warmth for 1000 in partnership with Elmbridge Borough Council is able to offer funding for Solid Wall Insulation to be installed to private sector housing within the Elmbridge Borough Council boundaries. This funding is available for both owner occupiers and private rented tenants who fall within the following eligibility criteria;

• Council tax benefit
• Housing benefit
• Income support
• Income-based job seekers allowance
• Income-related employment and Support Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• War Disablement Pension (that includes constant attendance allowance)
• Disablement pension (that includes constant attendance allowance)
• State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (where the relevant income is £16,190 or less)
• Working Tax Credit (where the relevant income is £16,190 or less)

The amount of funding available depends on a number of factors relating to the household including the property type and size as well as the current heating fuel. For more information contact |Warmth for 1000 on 0800 980 0902

Energy Efficiency Grants: Grants of up to £1,000 are offered by the Council in addition to the national grant programmes such as Warm Front (see above). Applicants will be expected to apply for the national grants initially, where they are eligible. In consultation with the Private Sector Housing Manager, grants can be provided for cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, condensing boilers or any other measures that are considered appropriate to provide adequate insulation. |Contact Private Sector Housing for more information.

Home Trust Loans: Elmbridge Borough Council in partnership with the |Parity Trust can offer financial assistance towards meeting the cost of certain energy efficiency measures. |Contact Private Sector Housing for more information.

If you are a tenant, please note that it will usually be necessary to have your landlord's agreement to install energy saving measures in your home.