Home Energy action

1. Establish the baseline and measure improvement through a CO2 Self Assessment
2. Take small steps and measure the improvement. Here are the results:
   • 2022 Home Energy CO2 Self Assessment
   • 2021 Home Energy CO2 Self Assessment
3. Identify wasted energy through a  Thermal Survey
4. Share best practise and experience

Links to trusted information sources:

• • UK Government energy advice website: simpleenergyadvice.co.uk
  • The Energy Saving Trust website 
  • The local Community Interest Company, Energy Alton

1. Ask the government to help pay (please note that this information does change!!):
   1. UK government home energy grants this links takes you to the Simple Energy Advice website and helpline.
   2. The Consumers Association has published a review of options to get grants and schemes for free or subsided boilers.
   3. Up until 31st March 2022 the UK government Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)
   4. From April 2022 the UK government has announced a plan for a ‘Boiler Upgrade Scheme‘ under which:

      • households to benefit from £5,000 government grants through £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help install low-carbon heating systems, part of more than £3.9 billion of new funding to decarbonise heat and buildings

2. Fund the improvements yourself:
   1. Build a business case for the upfront cost through the direct energy saving costs. 
      1. Most home improvements will reduce your annual energy bill or mitigate against future energy price rises
      2. Here is an example of the estimated cost and payback for loft insulation from the Energy Savings Trust
   2. Reframe the cost. 
      1. When you consider your CO2 emissions and the action you can take to reduce them there is likely to be a gap between where you are, where you can get to, and zero. You may want to think about ‘Carbon offsetting‘
      2. Use the money you would have spent on Carbon Offsetting to invest each year in your own CO2 reduction investments:
         • For example the average house in Beech emits approximately 8 tonnes of CO2 from home energy consumption each year. If we assume a commercial cost of CO2 offsetting at £80 (*) this would mean £640 per year.

Notes:

We have used the amount of £80 as the assumed commercial cost of a tonne of CO2 emissions based on the UK Emission Trading scheme market price. This launched at £50 in May 2021 and closed 2021 at just over £80 according to the Ember Climate Organisation data tracker.

Link to our page on Carbon Offsetting