Dream of a white Christmas … but plan for a cold one

· Many people in are Edinburgh hoping for a sprinkling of snow this festive season, but aren’t actually ready for extreme weather

· Almost one third of people don’t check that their central heating is working ahead of the winter months

· Almost three-quarters don’t insulate their pipes and one in 10 don’t know how to bleed a radiator

With the clocks going back and the countdown to winter weather under way, new research has revealed that more than 50 per cent of people in Edinburgh are pinning their hopes on a white Christmas this year – but many are not really prepared for a cold snap.

The survey found one third of people don’t check their central heating is working before it’s time to turn it on, and almost half fail to get their boiler serviced ahead of winter, leaving them open to a potential Christmas disaster.

According to the research by Scottish Gas, 25 per cent of people in Scotland have had to endure a cold shower in the past five years and more than half have gone without heating for more than a day* because of a breakdown at home.

Scottish Gas engineers in Edinburgh are urging people to check their homes before the cold really sets in and get themselves snow-ready as temperatures are set to dip below four degrees.

Martin O’Neill, Customer Service Director at Scottish Gas, said: “Our top priority is to keep our customers’ homes and businesses warm, safe and working during the winter months. As the UK prepares for a cold snap, our engineers are on standby to help if anything goes wrong.”

Danny Stuart, a Scottish Gas engineer in Edinburgh, said: “Our top priority is to help keep our customers’ homes and businesses warm, safe and working during the winter months, and as the UK prepares for a cold snap, our engineers are already on standby if anything goes wrong.

“Simple things, like blocking draughts to stop heat escaping, or bleeding your radiators, can help keep your home warm, yet our research shows that very few people actually do them to prepare for the winter months. It’s things like this that can really make the difference in getting your home snow-ready, so everyone can focus on enjoying that white Christmas they’ve been hoping for!

“To avoid even bigger problems, getting your boiler serviced annually can help detect issues, so is really worth looking into now, before the winter weather takes hold.”

Last winter, Scottish Gas completed nearly 200,000 plumbing jobs, and with meteorologists predicting a cold snap this November, its engineers are expecting to visit more than 70,000 homes in the next week.

Getting snow-ready

Scottish Gas engineers have some smart, simple advice on how to prepare homes and businesses for colder snaps and help protect against potential costly damage as a result of burst pipes, damaged water tanks or overflowing gutters.

Love your boiler: Check to make sure that your boiler is working properly before winter sets in. The older your boiler, the more inefficient it will be. If you have a pressure gauge, make sure the boiler is at the right pressure and top up as necessary.

Wrap up your water tank and insulate hot water: The materials can be purchased from most DIY stores and help to conserve heat and save you money.

Insulate your pipes: Burst pipes are a huge issue during winter months. To help prevent burst pipes, ensure all pipes are properly insulated by using lagging, which can be bought cheaply from most DIY shops.

Civic alliance calls for end to cold homes ‘blighting’ Scotland

“Too many children across Scotland are growing up in cold homes, with fuel poverty affecting four in every ten households.” – Martin Crewe, Barnardo’s Scotland

An alliance of civic organisations has called on the Scottish Government to end the blight of Scotland’s draughty, unhealthy homes by 2025. The call has been welcomed by the Scottish Greens, who say the government must go ‘further and faster’ to address the issue.

The Existing Homes Alliance, whose membership includes the Church of Scotland and the Federation of Master Builders, says the Scottish Government must take a long-term approach to improving the energy efficiency of Scotland’s buildings.

By doing so many benefits will be realised, including helping to reduce fuel poverty, cutting household fuel bills, lowering climate change emissions, creating jobs and preventing ill-health.

The call follows a June announcement by the Scottish Government that it intends to make home energy efficiency a National Infrastructure Priority.

The Alliance groups are calling for the Scottish Government to set an ambitious goal for that project, by committing to a goal that by 2025 all homes in Scotland are at least an Energy Performance Certificate band ‘C’.

Alan Ferguson, Chair of the Existing Homes Alliance said: “It was great to see the Scottish Government’s commitment to make energy efficiency a National Infrastructure Priority. This is vital if we as a nation are to end fuel poverty blighting our homes and step up to the challenge of climate change. However, we now need to see concrete proposals and clear goals from the Scottish Government to make this happen. These should include a goal of helping all homes reach a C energy performance standard by 2025, and a commitment to major long-term funding to support investment in energy efficiency.”

Martin Crewe, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland said: “Too many children across Scotland are growing up in cold homes, with fuel poverty affecting four in every ten households. The comprehensive Marmot review showed that this more than doubles their chances of suffering respiratory conditions like asthma, as well as impacting adversely on mental health, educational attainment and emotional wellbeing.

“Supporting all homes to reach a C standard will improve the physical and emotional health of families across Scotland and help to improve the life chances of Scotland’s most vulnerable children.”

Grahame Smith, STUC General Secretary added: “Improving the energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes is a huge opportunity to build a stronger economy and a more just Scotland. Research shows that bringing all homes up to at least a C energy performance standard would create 8-9,000 jobs a year distributed across communities in Scotland, new training and skills development opportunities and offer an excellent return on investment in generating employment and economic growth compared to other infrastructure investments.”

Alison Johnstone MSP, Health and Wellbeing spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, welcomed the call from the alliance to radically improve the energy efficiency of Scotland’s housing.

She said: “This call is very welcome and shows the need for government to go further and faster to tackle the blight of Scotland’s draughty, unhealthy homes.

“Last year Scottish ministers agreed with me that energy efficient housing should become a national infrastructure priority. During discussions on the 2015-16 budget Scottish Greens pressed for action, resulting in an extra £20million for fuel poverty measures. This was welcome but still way below what is required. 40 per cent of Scottish households are in fuel poverty.

“At the Scottish Greens conference at the weekend we announced our intention to push for 6,500 apprenticeships to support the delivery of this national priority. The Existing Homes Alliance aim that by 2025 all homes are at least an Energy Performance Certificate band ‘C’ is ambitious but necessary if we’re serious about tackling fuel poverty, climate change emissions and preventing ill-health.”

The lifestyle quiz that helps you save …

How much money could you save by turning your thermostat down by 1°C, or not leaving your electrical appliances on standby? How much electricity can you save by washing your clothes at 30°C?

Answer correctly and you could cut £155 or more off your energy bills, and have a chance to win £100 or £50 in gift vouchers, in a prize draw being run by Home Energy Scotland.

The answers are among five useful tips included in a quiz leaflet, ‘Your chance to win – and reduce your energy bills.’

Watch out for the leaflet in Council mailings or call Home Energy Scotland free for a copy on 0808 808 2282.

Jill Fenton, Manager at Home Energy Scotland advice centre in the South East said “This quiz shows how easy it is for people to make simple changes to save energy, reduce their fuel bills and cut their carbon emissions. It’s a fun way to help people to remember.”

Home Energy Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government to offer free, impartial advice on making your home cheaper to heat. For in-depth advice on how to reduce your energy bills or become more energy efficient, freephone Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 or text WARM to 81025.

Nikki, a young mum of two, who called Home Energy Scotland said “If I had a friend who needed help with heating their home or paying their energy bills, I’d say call Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 and find out what they can do to help”

Help with heating bills

A new national campaign to ensure households know what energy initiatives they are entitled to was launched today (October 7). The campaign following a recent survey which shows 75 per cent of Scots are worried about their energy bills.

Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, launched the campaign which highlights the benefits available to Scots through the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Scotland hotline [0808 808 2282] which offers free impartial energy advice and support.

The Scottish Government has a budget of £74 million this year to help Scots reduce their fuel bills and transform Scotland’s housing stock into warmer, more efficient, greener homes – all part of actions to increase energy efficiency and tackle fuel poverty in 2013/14.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The Home Energy Scotland hotline is an invaluable source of support for householders all over the country, providing a one stop shop for the Scottish Government’s home energy-saving initiatives.

“Many people are losing money by not taking up initiatives, yet anyone can apply for up to £1200 towards home improvements that will make their home warmer, greener and more cost-effective.

“Many people will also qualify to get energy-saving home improvements such as insulation, boilers or central heating for free. The hotline’s advisers are friendly and impartial and one call is all it takes to see what you might be eligible for.”

A YouGov survey recently found that three-quarters of Scots are concerned about the cost of their energy bills this winter, while more than 70 per cent of Scottish bill payers said last winter’s energy bills had a negative impact on their disposable income. Around 80 per cent (81 per cent) of householders also admit to being energy wasters at home.

More than 800,000 Scots have been offered energy advice or assistance on heating bills since 2009 , accessible through the Home Energy Scotland hotline.

Thousands of households across Scotland are eligible to have insulation, boilers and central heating installed for free. One call to the hotline is all it takes to find out if you qualify.

A home that isn’t well insulated can lose more than 50 per cent of its heat through its roof and walls, yet just a quarter of Scots surveyed would consider getting new insulation compared to the 71 per cent that said they would consider wearing a coat or extra jumper indoors in order to keep their bills low.

The Home Energy Scotland hotline’s expert advisers can inform callers which of the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Programmes they qualify for, as well as giving personalised advice on how to make homes more efficient.

Home Energy Scotland hotline

0808 808 2282

Warm homes for winter

Up to 10,000 extra Scottish households will be given free help to cut their energy bills this winter, Nicola Sturgeon said today. The Deputy First Minister has allocated a further £6 million to install vital energy efficiency measures, such as loft and cavity insulation into Scottish homes.

Also, from this week, a Scottish Government cash back voucher scheme will go live benefitting up to 35,000 Scottish households. This will allow individual householders to apply for £500 vouchers to contribute to the cost of new energy efficiency measures in their properties.

Ms Sturgeon said: “With temperatures dropping and colder weather beginning to bite, households across Scotland will be worrying about their winter energy bills. Solid action is absolutely imperative. That is why we have ploughed an additional £6 million into providing up to 10,000 households with free insulation that will make their homes warmer and cheaper to heat and invested millions into a cash back voucher scheme that is due to go live later this week.

“This is the kind of vital help which can make a real difference to those struggling to make ends meet and demonstrates we will do whatever we can within devolved powers to tackle fuel poverty. Anyone looking for help with their heating bills can contact our Home Energy Scotland Hotline on 0800 512 012 for further assistance.”

The £6 million funding is for the Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) – an initiative administered by local authorities.

Ms Sturgeon continued: “We all need to work together to tackle fuel poverty. Local authorities have been extremely effective at administering these schemes and I welcome their positive approach. I hope again that they will be able to deliver maximum results with this extra money. But our efforts are being held back by punishing price rises imposed by energy companies. The UK Government – who has responsibility for this area – is simply not doing enough to regulate the market, and this has to change urgently.

“With winter approaching, we need an end to mixed messages and confusion from Westminster, which frankly has done nothing to inspire confidence among worried householders.”

Chair of the National Insulation Forum (Scotland), Wilson Shaw said: “The National Insulation Association warmly welcomes this announcement -it’s really good news, not only for the thousands of households that will benefit, but also for the industry.

“It will really help insulation firms and their employees in Scotland, giving them greater continuity of work between current programmes coming to an end and the Green Deal and ECO getting going.”

The £6 million will be allocated to the Universal Home Insulation Scheme – an energy efficiency initiative administered by local authorities. The new funding is due to the success of the Scottish Government’s Energy Assistance Package in attracting energy company obligation funding to Scotland under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target.

From 1 November, householders across the whole of Scotland will be able to apply for a cashback voucher for up to £500 towards the cost of installing energy efficiency measures which are recommended through an EPC or Green Deal assessment.