Over the past few weeks and months we have witnessed energy companies increasing their gas and electricity prices and combined with the increased cost of buying food, petrol and wages not rising; we are concerned that heating our homes will become a huge expense over the coming winter months.

When you look at the facts on heating your home they can make worrying reading. Currently, it is known that older people are suffering the most when it comes to affording to heat their homes with 3.5 million older people living in fuel poverty (people who have to spend one tenth of their income on their energy bill). Also, with the government reducing the winter fuel allowance this year for the elderly, paying the energy bill can seem like one big expense and headache for everybody.

However, there are things that you can do to plan for the winter months and try to reduce your energy bill. You need to look at your home and calculate where you can save money. The first thing that you need to do is decide whether you have any heat loss and how this can be fixed.

In simple terms heat loss means losing heat from your home into the outside environment. It is thought that at present about a third of all the heat that is produced in a home in the UK is lost through such areas as the roof, walls and ceilings and in monetary terms it is assumed that £1 out of every £3 spent on heating is wasted.

Losing heat matters because you are paying for that energy which is just being wasted and therefore you are not getting value for money. It also means that you will need more energy and therefore the energy suppliers will put further strain on the environment in providing this.

There are many ways to ensure your home doesn’t lose heat and ways to plan ahead to reduce your energy bills over the winter months. Why not carry out an energy audit of your home? There are many online tools to help you and these are a great way to see how you can improve the energy efficiency of your home. Energy audits will provide you with a detailed checklist and way to evaluate your home to identify and prioritise energy efficiency.

You could also look to the Energy Saving Trust (EST) who can advise you on energy efficiency matters. At present the EST recommend that home owners take steps to reduce heat loss and in turn cut their energy bills. These steps with their percentage saving on your energy bill include replacing an old boiler with a new boiler (up to 25% saving), ensure your home has double-glazing (up to 17% saving), installing roof insulation (up to 15% saving).

Implementing these steps along with looking at the way you use gas and electricity in your home will help you ensure you become as energy efficient as possible and ready for those winter fuel bills.

Guest Article by Sarah Wain

Centrica has expanded British Gas Insulation with the acquisition of ECL Contract Ltd.

Centrica wants British Gas Insulation to be the largest of its kind in the UK and this latest acquisition is a key part of their growth strategy.

ECL Contracts specialises in external wall insulation and cost Centrica £4 million in cash. By adding the specialist skills of the ECL team, Centrica believes it will add to their ability to help British Gas customers cut their energy usage, carbon emissions and fuel bills. Before this acquisition, the main skill set of British Gas Insulation was loft and cavity-wall products.

Rugby-based ECL has 31 staff and markets its services to the roughly nine million homes in the UK which are of solid-wall construction.

British Gas reckons that the next five years will see a dramatic rise in the demand for home insulation, especially as the figures show that currently for every £4 homeowners spend on domestic energy fuel bills, around 25%, £1, is completely wasted due to bad insulation.

At the moment, some £0.6 billion is spent on home insulation which is set to rise to £1.4 billion in 2015. Apart from the economic incentives to improve house insulation, the Government has a number of incentives in which to actively encourage people to insulate their homes. This includes the Green Deal.

Managing Director of British Gas New Energy Jon Kimber said:
“This acquisition is part of the continuing success story of the British Gas insulation business. 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. ECL Contracts Ltd, like British Gas, has a real passion for great customer service, and we are delighted to have secured the skills of such a great team.”

Managing Director, ECL Contracts Malcolm Smith said:
“This is great news for ECL Contracts and a reflection of the hard work and skill of all our people. I joined ECL Contracts 14 years ago and I’ve seen the company go from strength to strength. We are now starting a new chapter and are thrilled at being part of one of Britain’s most successful companies.”

Centrica believes that its growth of British Gas Insulation will make it the leader in the home insulation market and together with its position as number one with energy efficiency and microgeneration products, will give its customers a complete energy solutions package.

British Gas is also organically growing its insulation business which will eventually employ over 1,000 employees. In 2009 alone, it completed well over quarter of a million installations involving insulation products. The Company has calculated that that level of profits saved its customers over £30 million from their fuel bills.

Guest Article by Neil Camp