Nigel Farren from Energise London CIC was co - presenter of LVSC's webinar Spiralling energy bills and ill health. This presentation will help you identify residents in fuel poverty.

1. Identifying and referring residents
in fuel poverty and/or at risk of ill-
health due to living in a cold home
Nigel Farren
Energise London CIC

2. About Energise London
Not-for-profit social enterprise establishing
community energy initiatives in London’s
boroughs:
•Free, help-line: on energy saving measures,
switching and renewables
•Referrals: to partners for assessments,
surveys, funding and installation
•Training: for health professionals
•Events: UK Community Energy Awards
Supporters of our work include the Energy Minister, Mayor of London
and the main stakeholders in the energy industry
Improving the energy efficiency of homes, reducing fuel poverty
and making renewable energy affordable for all

3. The link between Fuel Poverty and ill-health

4. How your can identify those
most at risk - key questions
• Is your home cold, particularly in winter?
• Are you struggling to pay your energy bills?
• Health affected by your living conditions?
Financial help is available towards
the cost of installing energy saving measures

5. Warning Signs
• Struggling to pay energy bills!
• Cold and draughty home
• One room kept warm while others are cold
• Damp patches / mould growth. Smell of damp.
• No double-glazing
• No central heating or client uses electric fires
• Uses prepayment meters
• Client wears extra clothes / stays in bed to keep
warm.

6. Those most prone
• Elderly.
• Terminally-ill
• Homebound
• Single parent families
• Those with respiratory,
cardiac and mental
problems Image courtesy of npower
500,000 Londoners estimated to be in fuel poverty

7. Next steps
• Inform the resident they may be
entitled to financial help with
insulation / heating
• Obtain their contact details and
refer them to Energise London or
ANO organisation
• If this isn’t possible, please pass
out our details and ask them to
ring us.
• We can then arrange an
assessment and advise what help
is available.

8. What we then do
• Pre – assess their needs
• Ascertain if they receive benefits
• Advise what help is available
• Arrange Green Deal Assessment
• Surveys
• Funding
• Installation

9. Why should you help?
• Reduce ill-health and excess winter deaths
• Reduce energy bills. Your service users could save up
to £300pa if they have loft and cavity wall insulation.
• Reduce NHS costs – GP visits, hospital admissions,
medicine subscriptions, etc.
• Improved service for your customers: free up
resources to be redirected elsewhere to help your
other service users.
Only by working together can we stop vulnerable
Londoners getting ill from living in a cold home.

10. Grants, schemes
and
who can help

11. Grants and schemes
• ECO
• The Green Deal
• Green Deal Home Improvement Fund
• Cashbacks: upto £6,000 for SWI
• Equity release
• Increase mortgage
• Loans
• Savings

12. The Energy Company Obligation
• £1.3 billion support from energy
companies to support energy
efficiency investment
• Subsidies for low income and
vulnerable households BUT
• Subsidies for less cost effective
measures in hard to treat homes
(e.g. solid wall insulation), now
reduced
HELP AVAILABLE NOW IS SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN LAST YEAR!

13. The Green Deal
• Household-specific advice and finance
• Recommended measures on the basis of
the GD Assessment Report
• ‘Golden Rule’ to ensure savings
• Approved providers
• Commercial interest rates
• Repayment up to 25 years
• Payments through electricity bill
• ‘Repayment obligation passes to new
owner when house sold
• Choice of accredited assessors/installers
• Green Deal code supports quality
installation
Image courtesy of the Energy Saving Trust

14. Who can practically help
• Energy Savings Trust – just information though
• Councils – only 4 have fuel poverty strategies
• Other orgs like us – only a handful in London
• Assessors: they can’t refer to installers
• Green Deal Providers – which will quote?
• Installers: trustworthy or cowboys?
It’s a minefield out there!

15. Thank You for listening
Nigel Farren, Founder
Energise London CIC
T: 020 8370 0270
E: nigel@energiselondon.org.uk
W: www.energiselondon.org.uk
Helping Londoners reduce carbon emissions and save and make energy and money