Every week, Residential Energy Services deliver free, impartial home energy advice and support to hard-to-reach people and communities with The Warmer Homes Project. Our friendly team of energy advisors are available to answer your questions about saving money on your energy bills, as well as cutting down on your carbon footprint.
We sat down with Paul and Heather from The Warmer Homes Project to answer some of your questions about home energy efficiency.
Do heat pumps work?
Yes they do. I have one at home as we speak. It’s been installed for about four months and it’s excellent. I have to say, a lot of people have told me, “it’s gonna be very noisy.” It’s not. It provides a beautiful, balanced heat throughout the property, and as long as you keep the heater on throughout the day and night, it provides a very efficient, nice, even heat throughout the building.
How do I know if I’ve got solid or cavity walls?
It is difficult to know whether you’ve got a solid or cavity wall, but if you look on the outside, and you see a sort of “stretcher bond,” where each brick is laid out the same, the chances are you’ll probably have a cavity. If you see the end of a brick, the chances are it could be a solid nine inch wall. Obviously with solid nine inch walls, you may well want to consider internal wall insulation.
I’ve got an old defective boiler – what can I do?
Just recently, in the last few years, condensing boilers have come onto the market. They’re a much more efficient way of heating your home. They make use of the flue gases, and utilise the gas far better, thus saving you a lot more energy and a lot more gas.
Why are my bills so high?
It depends, first of all, on your energy tariff. There are various different tariffs with different types of companies. So first of all, check what tariff suits your lifestyle. Because certain people work during the day, they may have the heating on during the day when they don’t need it, whereas people that maybe are retired maybe need it on during the day.
So check for tariffs that will be suitable for you. Tariffs are very important first of all.
What is an EPC and what do they do?
An EPC stands for an Energy Performance Certificate. There’s about 26 million EPCs on the government register. We can find out what your EPC is if you’ve moved into the property in the last 10 years. An EPC is a measurement of how energy efficient your property is. So for example, if your energy rating was poor, it would be in the E, F and G category.
They basically go from A to G. A being the most efficient, to G being the worst efficient. It can be a nice house, but it can still be very energy inefficient. So, that’s what an EPC is. All the lower ends of the scope of property that are on an E, F, or G, maybe don’t have a lot of loft insulation, a poor boiler, maybe a solid wall. We’re looking to upgrade those properties.
I’m getting calls from people trying to sell me solar panels – what can I do?
What we normally advise is that if people, especially elderly residents, are getting quite a lot of calls from people trying to sell them solar, we try to make them aware that nobody can offer you solar panels unless they’ve actually been out to look at the property. No one can call anyone to say, “we can put solar panels in” if they haven’t been out and inspected it.
If they haven’t been out, don’t take the call. Hang up, maybe get some call barring.
Is it worth having solar panels in the UK?
I think so now, yes. With the cost of energy as it is, it is getting to the point of being cost effective to actually fund your own install because of the energy saving throughout the spring and summer. So definitely, I would consider some.
Should I turn the heating off and on or leave it on all day?
People tend to make the mistake of thinking that if they switch their heating on and off at certain times of the day, it’s going to save them money. Whereas it’s better if you have your heating on at a constant temperature, maybe a little bit lower for longer, and then it will cost less.
Got any questions?
Our friendly team of energy experts are travelling throughout Staffordshire and Shropshire to offer more impartial energy advice and guidance.
Check out the events page and come and see us at our next pop-up and we’ll be happy to answer your energy efficiency questions!
