The weather might be hotting up, and insulation is probably the last thing on your mind, but now is the time to think about making your home ready for winter.
A long-running, council-funded scheme inBristolnow offers free loft and cavity wall insulation for everybody*. To date, the city-wide Bristol Energy Efficiency Scheme has insulated more than 10,000 households.
The scheme is supported and partially funded by Bristol City Council, alongside an energy supplier. Importantly this method of grant funding is coming to an end this autumn, which means it could be your last chance to access insulation for free.
Walls and lofts are the two largest areas of heat loss in a home, so insulating these will make your home warmer and save you money. You could save as much as £25 a month on your energy bills.
There is also a very clear link between a warm home and your health. Asthma and other respiratory illnesses are made worse by a cold, damp home. If you are cold, you also become less mobile, meaning that you’re more at risk of trips and falls.
If you also consider that cold, damp homes are associated with anxiety and depression it’s easy to see why NHS Bristol is supporting the Bristol Energy Efficiency Scheme.
The scheme is open to owner occupiers and privately rented households in the Bristol City Council area and grants are subject to survey and available funding. The first step is to have a free, no-obligation survey by the approved contractor.
The scheme is managed by Bristol-based charity the Centre for Sustainable Energy, whose team of advisors provide free, impartial, local knowledge about grants for insulation, help with lowering energy bills and benefits entitlement checks.
To enquire contact the Home Energy Team at the Centre for Sustainable Energy, call 0800 082 2234 or email home.energy@cse.org.uk. For more information, visit www.cse.org.uk/advice or follow @CSE_HomeEnergy on Twitter.
* Subject to survey and funding availability
