Fuel poverty awareness day
Across Oxfordshire (and the UK) this week, people were reaching for the thermostat to warm their homes as we experienced the first burst of freezing weather of the winter. But as the cost-of-living crisis continues and we face another winter of rising energy bills, for many people, heating their homes comes with a compromise.
In Oxfordshire alone, over 23,000 households are living in fuel poverty – 6 million around the UK. They face a choice between heating their homes and being able to afford to pay for food or other essential household bills, and in the freezing days of winter, that is a decision that no one should have to make.
Wednesday 27 November 2024 is National Energy Action’s Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, aimed at raising awareness of the severity of the problem and pushing for change so no household needs to get into debt just to keep warm.
At Low Carbon Hub, we believe in the power of community energy groups to take positive action on the ground to tackle fuel poverty and help the most vulnerable people in our communities get the help they need.
Through our Community Grant Fund, Low Carbon Hub supports a number of energy efficiency projects in Oxfordshire, using surplus funds from the generation of clean, community-owned energy to provide benefits for people within our community who need it most. Here, we look at a few examples.
Energy Advice and Resources
Our website hosts a wealth of information for individuals who are worried about energy bills and keeping warm this winter. We have a range of free energy resources available, including our Warmer Winter checklist. This is a fantastic resource to help make sure you’re not paying more than you need to for your energy bills, check what help you could be entitled to and see what easy changes you can make around your home to cut energy waste. You can access the checklist here.
We also have a resource on Low Cost, No Cost energy saving measures that’s designed to highlight the free and cheap measures we can all take to keep our homes warm in the winter. You can download the leaflet here.
As well as our downloadable resources, we have trained a team of Energy Champions, based in communities across Oxfordshire, as well as an Energy Advisor. The Advisor and Champions are available to come along to events and meetings with an Energy Advice stall, to provide advice and information about ways to keep warm and reduce bills.
Whatever your situation, if you want to learn more about how you can save energy around your home, or find out what financial support you could be entitled to, this section of our website has lots of information to help you.
Draughtbusters
Draughtbusters is an initiative that recruits and trains volunteers to visit homes within their community to install simple energy-saving measures at no cost to the household, helping to keep homes warmer and reduce energy bills. It prioritises high-risk groups, including people living in fuel poverty, families with young children, the elderly, and people living under debt management.
Projects like this are a fantastic example of communities stepping up to tackle the issue of fuel poverty. Low Carbon Hub was proud to offer some support to Sustainable Wantage for their project that has so far ‘draughtbusted’ more than 44 homes in Wantage, at an average cost of £25 per home for materials. You can read more about the Sustainable Wantage Draughtbusters scheme here.
We have also supported Kidlington Eco Group to set Draughtbusters in their community. The South and Vale Climate Action Fund provided funding to other community groups: Abingdon Carbon Cutters and Sustainable Wallingford.
Hook Norton Community Land Trust
We were also pleased to be able to offer support to Hook Norton CLT’s climate-positive housing project, which created a development of energy-efficient, carbon-positive homes that will be rented or sold affordably to people in the community, not only easing the problems caused by the housing crisis in the area but ensuring the residents will pay less on their energy bills in the future. You can read more about this groundbreaking and award-winning development here. We think it’s a terrific example of community action to create affordable and sustainable homes and is something that can be replicated across the UK.
More support available
On Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, we want to encourage anyone who is worried about heating their homes this winter to reach out for help. There are plenty of advice and support services available around Oxfordshire to help and we hope that our online resources will help point you in the right direction.
Better Housing, Better Health
A free service helping all Oxfordshire residents to keep warm, stay healthy, and live well. Call them for free on 0800 107 0044. Find out more.
Help for Households
The Help for Households website explains all the different support that’s available for energy – and also sets out other national schemes that can help with the cost of living.
Support from local council
Different councils offer a variety grants and support; check out your local council’s website for more information.