This week is Energy Savers Week — a national, annual campaign to raise awareness about energy efficiency and provide support for households to reduce their energy bills.
Sustainability charity, Severn Wye Energy Agency, is doing its bit to empower local people to take control of their energy bills this year, providing expert and impartial advice to homeowners and landlords looking to make energy-saving home improvements.
Many households across the county have experienced increases in their energy bills in the past year — coupled with the rising cost of living, it means more people are seeking ways to become energy efficient and cut costs where they can, including retrofitting their home with energy-saving measures and technologies.
Investing in home renovations is a big decision and can come with its own set of challenges. Severn Wye's home energy experts offer personalised recommendations to help you choose the right energy solutions for your home, delivering an action plan that aligns with your budget, lifestyle and property.
The service includes:
- An initial consultation and site survey from a home energy adviser
- A current energy efficiency report, including a new EPC
- A bespoke retrofit action plan outlining cost and carbon savings
- Additional advice to make the most of your retrofit works
- Follow-on support to assess installer quotes and check installation and set-up — ensuring the changes you make are the best ones
Better yet, Severn Wye has won government funding to deliver this service free to nearly 300 households, including landlords, across Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire over the next two years.
Anyone ready to make energy-saving home improvements can apply by visiting severnwye.org.uk/sga.
It's no secret that home improvements can be costly, but there's financial help out there too. Various government support schemes, like the Green Deal, have enabled UK householders to make essential improvements to their home in the past decade — with around 3.7 million energy efficiency measures installed in 2.6 million properties from 2013 to the end of 2022.
However, during 2022, there was a 55 per cent decrease in the number of measures installed through these schemes compared with 2021.
Severn Wye provides guidance on how to access financial support to fund new energy-saving measures, to help Gloucestershire households and landlords take advantage of the support schemes available to them — helping as many people as possible to stay warm, reduce their heating bills and, ultimately, meet the UK's net zero goals.
