News emerges that more people than ever before will face financial pressures in the wake of increasing fuel bills, the call for household energy efficiency measures have never been greater.
With an average energy bill set to climb over £1400 in 2009 (from under £690 in 2005), the Government has given a commitment to help consumers improve household energy efficiency and permanently bring down energy bills.
As the nation waits for confirmation of where Government support will be given, many organisations are offering advice and guidance into where and how families can make changes that will cut their household energy costs.
Figures from the Energy Savings Trust suggest that if everyone undertook a number of simple measures including:
Fitting energy saving light bulbs, double glazed windows, installing a condensing boiler, cavity wall and loft insulation and jackets for hot water tanks, UK households could reduce energy bills by over £270 a year and save over £1.9bn in fuel costs.
Planet South Lakes representative said: "It is increasingly becoming apparent that current fuel price increases are set to have dramatic effects on many people's household bills.
"But making energy efficient changes, ahead of the winter months, could lead to savings of thousand's of pound on future fuel bills - as well as adding to a house's value. If people are considering making improvements we would urge them to look at the most energy efficient options.
"Installing double glazing for example, cuts heat lost through windows by half. At Planet South Lakes we fit the very latest A-rated energy saving double glazing, which offers potential savings of over £110 per year per household."
Further estimations on savings to be gained from implementing energy efficiency measures in the home include:
• Around a third of all the heat lost in an un-insulated home is lost through the walls. Fitting cavity wall insulation could save up to £120 on an annual fuel bill
• Insulating an uninsulated loft can save around £155 a year If everyone in the UK topped up their loft insulation to 270mm, around £560m would be saved each year. That's enough money to pay the annual fuel bills of around 530,000 families.
• An ultra efficient condensing boiler will be 20% more efficient and could save up to £130 on heating bills.
• Fitting an insulating jacket to the hot water cylinder could save around £30 per year
• Setting hot water cylinder thermostats to 60°C/140°F could save up to £10 over the year
• Using low energy light bulbs to save £10 on electricity bills each year.
• By installing draught proofing you could save around £25 a year on your heating bills
Financial help may be available if you're planning to make energy saving improvements to your home. Visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk for more information.
To see more information on Planet South Lakes Energy Efficiency Windows visit their website at http://www.planetsouthlakes.com
Figures shown above from www.energysavingstrust.org.uk
