Free home insulation and other benefits
If you own or rent your home privately, receive benefits or are aged 70 or over, then your insulation might be free. And even if you don’t own your own home, you could get other money saving offers through the Energy Assistance Package. The local Energy Saving Scotland advice centre in Inverness can check if you might be entitled to discounted energy rates and extra benefits. If so, they can help you to get them.
The Scottish Government’s Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) may also offer you free loft and cavity wall insulation, depending on where you live. To find out if you live in a UHIS area and what UHIS can offer you, call the free phone Home Energy Hotline on 0800 512 012.
Scotland plans 30% renewables target by 2020
The Scottish government has announced revised renewable energy targets, pledging to meet 30 per cent of energy demand from renewables by 2020. Plans will also hope to deliver 500MW of community-owned renewable energy by this date.
A new “Renewables Routemap”, outlines how the country can meet the targets and capitalise on the economic potential of Scotland’s green
energy capacity. Previously, Scotland had planned to meet a 20 per cent renewables target by 2020, a goal that it was on track to succeed. New targets will also see the nation generate 11 per cent of heat from renewables by the end of the decade. This could be an interesting alternative to the oil and LPG heating many of us rely on in rural areas.
If you are interested in renewable energy for your home, come along to Kirkhill primary school on the 29th October when we will have renewable energy suppliers and installers on hand to answers your questions about suitable kit.
Nearly a quarter of UK households in fuel poverty
Research published in July revealed almost one-quarter of UK households are now classed as being in fuel poverty. It reveals that 6.3 million homes in the UK now struggle to pay their energy bills signalling that fuel poverty is no longer an issue just for lower income households.
Fuel poverty is classified as households having to pay more than ten per cent of their income towards energy bills. There are 2 ways a household can protect themselves from fuel poverty – pay the lowest possible energy prices and learning how to use less of it.
Home Energy Checks.
A simple way to find out how you can make your home more energy efficient and if you will qualify for subsidised or free insulation tops ups is to complete a Home Energy Check. These are a very simple, user friendly list of questions supplied by the Energy Saving Scotland advice centre, a Government funded team. There is a local office in Inverness which supports our Programme and they are happy to chat with residents and provide advice and information as well as the Home Energy Checks. The office can be contacted on the following free phone
number 0800 512 012.