Blaby Advice To Keep your property warmer & your energy bills lower

Advice is on hand for Blaby district residents on ways to keep their property warmer and energy bills lower thanks to the Council’s Warm Homes Officer.

Jo Shaw is funded by 4 Ways to Warmth and charity Change Agents, and is able to provide free home energy audits to local residents. She can come to any housing type in the district and give advice on simple low cost savings measures, such as draught proofing, boiler jackets and energy monitors to show what energy is being used in the property. Jo can also discuss larger home improvements such as insulation and heating system updates, whether grants and loans are available, and help comparing energy tariffs. 

Up until the end of March grants are available from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and cover a range of items including boiler repairs and replacements, low cost energy efficiency measures, such as draught proofing or loft clearance, and help paying for emergency fuel when not on gas, e.g. oil. It also includes fuel debt reduction payments to help people get off pre-payment meters, and help setting up a Jam Jar account, a scheme to help manage fuel payment where the person can put in money as frequently as they want but once in can only be used for fuel bills. The Grant covers admin fees and £150 to start people off.

 Jo Shaw, Warm Homes Officer at Blaby District Council, said: “Many people do not realise there is help available when it comes to heating homes and managing energy bills, and I strongly urge those in need to get in touch before the grant finishes at the end of March. There is a limited pot of money and this will be spent on a first come, first served basis.”

 There are some eligibility criteria and some measures are not available for all housing tenures, however residents can get a free Green Deal Assessment, a new national scheme where you pay for energy saving measures such as insulation every month through your electricity bill. For more information email housing.options@blaby.gov.uk or call 0116 272 7536.

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