When it comes to keeping the UK’s homes warm, the British Gas insulation initiative seems to be hotting up.

According to British Gas, one of the UK’s biggest suppliers of energy, it fitted insulation in 150,000 homes in 2010.

And the British Gas insulation drive has been given a boost by the news that it has bought Hillserve Ltd, which they claim is a company which serves the North West of England and Wales with top insulation services and products.

The British Gas insulation push is being taken so seriously, that the energy giant has formed a separate insulation business, of which Hillserve forms a part. It’s raison d’etre is to help as many households as possible in the UK fit effective, low cost insulation. It currently employs over 1,000 technicians.

British Gas paid £5 million to acquire Hillserve and believes the company, which employs nearly 160 people, will add high technical expertise and customer service standards to its existing operation.

And the British Gas insulation effort comes at a good time, with figures suggesting that for every four pounds currently spent on domestic energy, 25%, or one pound, is wasted due to poor insulation. And by 2015 predicts British Gas, the amount of money spent on domestic insulation will have risen from £600 million to £1.4 billion.

And British Gas insulation has the ambition to be the leading supplier out there, offering insulation products and services as part of a comprehensive range of energy solutions.

Managing Director of British Gas Phil Bentley, said:
“At British Gas, we are building the country’s leading insulation business, reducing household carbon emissions, and helping our customers lower their energy bills. The insulation market is growing, and insulating homes is the cheapest way to reduce energy bills. Hillserve Ltd, like British Gas, has a real passion for great customer service, and we are delighted to have secured the skills of the Hillserve team.”

Managing Director of Hillserve Julie Hadfield, said:
“This is a great result for Hillserve, and is testament to the hard work and skill of all our people. It’s great news for our customers as well as our staff who will be part of one of Britain’s most successful companies.
Hillserve was founded by my dad, Harry Hearsum, 25 years ago this week. We look forward to the next 25 years and beyond as part of British Gas.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The government scheme that is meant to guard consumers against fuel poverty has upped the level of money now available.

Grants of up to £2,700 have been available to households who opt for energy efficient initiatives such as the fitting of a new boiler, loft and wall insulation, and double glazing. That figure has now increased to £3,500 and for those households that are not on the national grid and have to rely on oil, or LPG, they can now apply for a grant up to £6,000. Also, grants for new carbon friendly technologies, such as air source heat pumps and thermal heating, will now be available.

But critics point out that the grants are not usually 100% and top-up fees are often payable by the householder. Furthermore, many people on the receiving end of work carried out say that much of it is below standard and over priced. Some 22,000 people who originally applied for a grant over the last three years have either pulled out of the scheme, or put their applications on hold, fearing that they would not be able to afford the top-up contributions.

The government has ear-marked a total of £959 million for the Warm Front scheme until April 2011, although there are many who see this as promised and not secure funding.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Britain’s most eco-friendly neighbours live in Green Lane, Cookridge, Leeds, just in case you were wondering.

In an experiment masterminded by British Gas, the Leeds residents won a competition which saw eight families on eight different streets throughout the U.K. try to cut their energy consumption by 25%. And the prize, some £30,000 for the street to spend on energy saving light bulbs, solar panels, loft insulation and energy conscious kettles.

The project highlighted some families which achieved a whopping energy saving of over 50%, and many coming in with a still impressive 30%.

One family in Green Lane achieved a dramatic 45% reduction, saving what they believe was £700 off their annual energy bill. They were helped in their quest with a smart meter that allowed them to monitor real-time their consumption. They told reporters how shocked they were whenever they boiled a kettle, or used an iron. The amount of electricity they used was incredible they said and encouraged them to only boil the amount of water they needed, and to use the iron less. They also gave up on their electric mower and used a manual one.

By running the competition, British Gas were keen to highlight the fact that households account for a quarter of the total U.K. emissions. Furthermore, that for every £3 spent on heating a U.K. house, on average £1 is lost due to poor insulation.

The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), an independent think tank, monitored the experiment and will make a report to the Government. It’s been pointed out that if all British households took the same measures as the families in the competition, the country could easily beat the target to cut U.K. emissions of carbon dioxide. In fact, it would save 35 million tons of emissions, which is equivalent to what three coal-fired power stations produce every year.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The Government’s much trumpeted Warm Front initiative is “unfit for purpose” says The National Audit Office (“NAO”).

The Warm Front scheme was created to help poorer households get subsidised help with roof and wall insulation, double glazing and high-efficiency boilers. It is also a scheme on which a number of energy companies build their customer help programmes.

But the NAO discovered that some 57% of vulnerable households – those in fuel poverty – could not be helped by the scheme because they did not claim key benefits. Fuel poverty is officially defined as those that spend over ten per cent of their household budget on energy costs. Ironically though, the NAO also found that 75% of those who are entitled, were not necessarily in fuel poverty.

So, whilst there are some two million households in fuel poverty, only around 600,000 have been helped between June 2005 and March 2008.

And, in another twist, the NAO discovered of the nearly £900 million spent on grants, around £35 million of it was spent on homes that were already regarded as fuel efficient.

Various charity groups claim to have received thousands of complaints about Warm Front, mainly over the fact that the measures are only subsided and many households literally cannot afford to make up the difference in the cost from their own pockets.

The net result, say the various bodies, is that the government’s scheme cannot be said to cope with the nation’s energy cost crisis.

The government has responded via Energy and Climate Change Minister Joann Ruddock who highlighted the fact that nearly two million households had received tangible help, but she did admit that some improvements were necessary. She said the scheme was being reviewed, more money was being made available and that an independent consultant was being brought in to make recommendations as to its viability.

Whether that will be enough to please the various pressure groups, remains to be seen.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The Conservative Party recently revealed plans for a UK Energy Makeover should they get into power. This nationwide makeover would involve the installation of loft and wall insulation and new energy efficient boilers into every property and although this sounds like a great idea you may be asking how is it going to be paid for? Apparently, the Government are going to lend the gas and electricity companies enough money to complete the upgrades – which are estimated to cost between £1700 and £6000 per home – and the household will be required to pay back the cost in small chunks over the next 25 years! According to the figures released by the Government, the average house would require around £1700 worth of energy efficient improvements and the householders would be expected to pay for this at a rate of around £70 per year. Saying this, the estimations show that the improvements would reduce the average family fuel bill by around £230 per year which will leave the householder £160 in profit. If these figures can be substantiated then the proposed Energy Makeover would benefit everyone however it must be remembered that they are based on the average household and there are plenty of households in the UK that aren’t average. Additional Benefits of the Energy Makeover As well as saving every household money on their fuel bills, the Conservatives list a number of other benefits to their plans, including the creation of thousands of jobs, more competitiveness in the energy supply market and the reduction of the UK’s CO2 emissions by a large percentage. They also mention the fact that the UK will need to train thousands of skilled engineers to cope with the upgrades and this will provide an ongoing stream of skilled tradesmen for years to come – a problem that the country is beginning to struggle with even now. The Conservatives also want the UK to become more reliant on renewable energy sources as opposed to oil and gas imports from countries such as Russia. As an incentive there would be large Government grants available to homes who choose to invest in renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels and there would be a network of free recharging stations for all new electric and hybrid cars. The Future with the Conservatives According to David Cameron the Conservative plans aim to make the UK a low-carbon economy and the proposed makeover will be the start to a carbon-free existence. Environmental experts say that the plans are workable however they will require the co-operation of the entire nation and the major gas and electricity suppliers – many of which aren’t actually UK companies. As I see it, the average household will be happy to pay for the improvements as they will be saving around £160 on their fuel bills each year but what about the elderly or those that live alone and have small fuel bills to start with – will they actually save the £70 per year that they will be required to pay for the improvements? There are a lot of loose ends with the Energy Makeover Plans but hopefully they will be sorted before the Conservatives gain control. Guest Article by Clare Lynock