Home Energy Advice Boost for Bath and North East Somerset Residents

Residents will now be able to get extra support to help reduce their energy bills and make their homes more energy efficient thanks to the new Energy at Home Advice Service supported by Bath & North East Somerset Council.

The Energy at Home Advice Service offers a wide range of energy related guidance and can help you find out what grants and finance options are available. An example of this is that Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NESC) is currently offering a generous top-up grant of up to £7,000 for solid wall insulation.

The Advice Service has already received numerous enquiries from residents wanting to know how to make their homes warmer, more eco-friendly and cheaper to run.

Cllr Paul Crossley (Lib-Dem, Southdown), Leader of Council, said: “The Advice Service is part of the Energy at Home Scheme, which Bath & North East Somerset Council has been developing with local partners over the last two years. The B&NES Energy at Home Scheme is designed to make it easier for our residents to make energy saving home improvements.

“This helps us address a number of potential issues including fuel poverty, the risk of illness to people living in cold homes, and the level of domestic carbon emissions. At the same time it will be helping local businesses to benefit from the work this creates.”

The Energy at Home website www.energyathome.org.uk is jam-packed with useful information about the different energy saving measures, grants and finance available to help install energy saving home improvements, as well as guidance for if you reside in an old property.

The Advice Service is available Monday to Friday 9am-6pm, and on Saturday mornings 9am-12pm. To get in touch call 0800 038 5680 or send an email to [email protected]. To speak to an advisor face to face, you can pop in to the One Stop Shop on Manvers Street, Bath, on the first Friday of each month between 10am and 12pm.

In appropriate circumstances, the Advice Service can book you in for a home energy assessment, that produces a report showing the suitable energy saving measures for your home. This additional service is free to those in receipt of qualifying benefits. The Advice Service can talk you through the report and help you understand your options. If you want to have some of the measures installed, they can help you find a certified installer.

Local businesses in the construction trade are encouraged to get in touch with the Energy at Home Trade Support Team who can offer subsidised training in sustainable construction and Green Deal certification, and reduced membership to the Council’s Trading Standards “Buy with Confidence” scheme. Call 0800 038 5688, email [email protected] or go to www.energyathome.org.uk/trade-support for more information.