Affordable Warmth
What is fuel poverty?
People are generally considered to be in fuel poverty when they need to spend more than 10% of their household income on heating their home to an adequate level of warmth to promote good health and well being.
The causes of fuel poverty often include all or some of the following factors:
- Low household income
- Homes with inadequate insulation
- Homes with energy inefficient or expensive heating systems
- Under occupancy
- The price of fuel
Fuel poverty disproportionately affects specific groups:
- The elderly
- Single parents, especially those with young children
- People with a disability
- Pepole with chronic long-term illnesses
- The long-term unemployed
- People generally on low incomes
Fuel poverty often results in cold and damp homes, which contributes to ill health generally and exacerbatse existing medical conditions such as heart disease and circulatory and respiratory illnesses.
The fuel poor may also suffer from stress, anxiety and depression, as well as social exclusion. Hence, fuel poverty imposes additional costs on health care and social care services.
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Helping households to achieve Affordable Warmth
Affordable Warmth is the ability to heat the home adequately, so that the occupants have comfort and warmth and are not at risk of getting into fuel debt as a result.
To help fuel poor households to achieve affordable warmth requires a holistic approach, as it is important to improve the condition and energy efficiency of the home, ensure that the heating system is efficient and cost effective and that the occupants know how to use the heating controls properly, and household income must be maximised by ensuring that welfare benefit entitlement is received and the household is buying their gas and electricity from their energy supplier through the cheapest tariff available.
Helping households to achieve warmer homes will save energy, cut fuel costs, increase the level of comfort and reduce ill-health linked to living in cold, damp homes.
One Vision Housing has now identified two main approaches to achieving affordable warmth, these being: Making it cheaper to heat homes (improving energy efficiency) and providing welfare benefit advice to those who are most vulnerable through our Financial Inclusion Strategy).
Are you struggling to pay your gas and electricity bills? One Vision Housing may be able to help.
One Vision Housing are currently working with our customers to reduce home energy bills and are delivering a programme of visits offering assessments and income maximisation checks to address these issues.
By reducing the amount of money our customers are spending on fuel and making them aware of any benefits they may be eligible for, we hope to help them avoid building up debt.
Our staff can visit your home, review your energy use and provide you with some money-saving tips.
- Grants/loans for home improvements
- Loft and cavity wall insulation
- Switching to a lower cost energy supplier
- Social tariffs (special rates for vulnerable residents)
- How to deal with unpaid fuel bills
- Claiming the benefits you are entitled to
- Support organisations in our area
- Energy efficiency to keep bills down
After a visit is completed you will receive a report on the potential savings that could be made.
For energy saving tips see our top 10 saving ideas
If you would like more information or to arrange a visit please contact Roni Sherriff - Affordable Warmth Officer on 0300 365 1111.
