Warm Home Discount Scheme Set To Open

Despite many of us hanging on for an Indian summer in September, temperatures are cooling off, and the days are noticeably shorter, and it won’t be long until households across the UK are turning up their central heating, which can lead to higher fuel bills over the winter period. 

We are all looking for ways to help reduce our fuel bills, but to help with the mounting costs, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has reminded people that they could be eligible for a £140 discount on their electricity bills for 2021/22 winter season under the Warm Home Discount Scheme, which opens on 18 October.

The £140 is not paid directly to the claimant, but instead is a one-off discount on your electricity bill between October and March 2022. If your energy supplier provides you with both gas and electricity, then you may be able to get the discount on your gas bill instead.

Am I eligible?

There are two pathways to qualifying for the Warm Home Discount scheme:

How to apply

Your electricity supplier decides who gets the discount, and the number of discounts available is limited, so be sure to check with your supplier as soon as possible to see if you’re eligible and how to apply, and they will add the discount to your bill by 31 March 2022.

For more information about the Warm Home Discount Scheme for winter 2021/22, visit the GOV.UK website here.

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How To Have A More Energy Efficient Home

Energy efficiency is high on the agenda at the moment, as the world’s climate becomes hotter every year, and the devastating results of global warming can be seen with frightening regularity. Near the top of the action list is improving the efficiency of UK homes, which are currently responsible for 20% of the nation’s carbon emissions.

 

Insulation

A very simple step you can take is to ramp up your levels of insulation. This will stop as much heat escaping, meaning you can turn radiators down, or turn the heating off earlier. Not only will this make your house warmer and drier, but you will also save on energy bills.

Fitting your hot water cylinder with an insulating jacket will preserve heat, save you costs, and reduce emissions. Cavity wall insulation can stop as much as a third of all heat leaking from your home, according to the Energy Saving Trust. Houses built after 1920 but before 1990 may not have any wall insulation, so it pays to have this checked out.

Loft insulation is also essential, to save as much as 25% of your heat from leaking through the roof. The investment will soon pay for itself, and you can carry out the work yourself, unless you have a flat roof. Also consider applying draught-proofing strips around window and door frames, and draught-proofing the chimney.

 

Underfloor heating

The thought of converting to underfloor heating may seem like a very expensive way to save money, but you might be surprised at how affordable it is nowadays. It is also a far more efficient way to heat a home, because underfloor heating systems need much lower temperatures to warm a room to a comfortable level.

Not only that, you will have a lovely toasty warm floor to walk on when you get up on crispy frosty mornings, and your home will feel more spacious without bulky wall radiators!

 

If you need a new boiler quote in North London, get in touch today.