In the mid to long term, the cost of heating your home is likely to rise. With fossil fuel reserves diminishing and demand for energy rising all the time, prices are only likely to head in one direction. This makes it all the more important to ensure your home is as energy-efficient as it should be, and that you take full advantage of any financial entitlements available to reduce your monthly spend.
You may not be aware that many UK homes qualify for free insulation, which can help keep your house warm, allowing you to use less gas and electricity. This is under the government’s Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme, which was introduced in 2013 to replace the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and the Community Energy Saving Programme.
Under ECO, which runs in parallel with other state-backed schemes such as the Green Deal, energy suppliers are legally obliged to install energy efficient technologies – such as loft insulation and cavity wall insulation – to qualifying households. This can help them save money, and in some instances, receive the solutions they need for free.
There are three sections to ECO, each of which can help households save money. The first of these is the Carbon Savings Communities Obligation (CSCO), which allows low-income households in the upper 15% of the most deprived parts of the UK to receive free home insulation. The Carbon Emissions Reduction Obligation (CERO) works in a similar way, providing funding for external and internal insulation in properties with solid walls. CERO ensures people who need more complicated – and expensive – energy-efficiency solutions, but don’t have the money readily available, can access them.
ECO also includes the Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation (HHCRO), which is designed for people on low incomes or qualifying benefits. Individuals who claim child tax credit or working tax credit and earn £16,010 or less may qualify, along with those claiming income-related employment and support allowance, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income support and state pension credit.
Free heating and free insulation is delivered by Green Deal-approved companies including Warm Front Limited. Each job is assessed by our experts on an individual basis, to determine whether your home qualifies for financial support. Our fully-qualified and trained assessors are readily available to discuss funding options with you, for the various heating and insulation solutions that can reduce your bills.
