8th March 2007

Home Heat Helpline launches first nationwide Barometer for Energy Efficiency

Key Findings

- More than 9 out of 10 people see energy efficiency as important

- But three-quarters of the population put cost of energy bills ahead of concerns for the environment as main driver to energy efficiency

- Two-thirds have taken steps to improve their home’s energy efficiency in last 12 months

- But two-thirds of households are potentially missing out on £millions worth of grants every year

The Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99) today released the first National Barometer on Energy Efficiency which reveals that despite millions of people wanting to become more energy efficient, households across the UK last month made up to 94 million* energy wasting mistakes in the home. The national representative sample of 1848 people, carried out by Canvasse Opinion on behalf of the Helpline, found that in the last month alone people made the following mistakes:

- Leaving appliances on standby (63 per cent)
- Leaving the heating on all night (30 per cent)
- Boiling a kettle full of water for just one cup (28 per cent)
- Using a washing machine with only a half load (26 per cent)
- Forgetting to turn off all their lights before leaving the house (18 per cent)
- Forgetting to turn the heating off before leaving the house (17 per cent)
- Having furniture or curtains covering radiators (16 per cent)
- Leaving hot taps running (4 per cent)

The research discovered that despite the recent focus on fuel bills one in five people have their home thermostat set too high. The research found that 20 per cent of those questioned had their thermostat set to 22 ? or higher – above the recommended temperature of the main living room in the home of 21? and 18? for the rest of the house.

The research was carried out for The Home Heat Helpline (0800 33 66 99). Funded by Britain’s energy suppliers the Helpline is the only service for all customers who have difficulties with heating their homes or paying for their energy bills no matter who their energy supplier is.

Duncan Sedgwick, Chief Executive of the Energy Retail Association said

“It is alarming that despite the warnings millions of households are wasting money every month by paying higher than necessary home energy bills. Households need to examine the energy they use and take steps where think they can save money. We would encourage anyone worried about paying their fuel bills this winter to call the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99 as soon as possible so they can receive advice on how to efficiently use energy in the home.”

The Barometer also gave an insight into what motivates people to save energy in the home. Surprisingly, the debate surrounding the environment in recent months and the responsibility of households to do their bit seems to have had little impact on the desire to save energy. Three-quarters responded that it was energy bills and not the environment which was the main driver for making their homes energy efficient. The drive to reduce energy use for environmental reasons does however seem to be reaching the next generation of households. Of 18-24 years olds who answered the survey nearly a third (32 per cent) cited the environment as the main reason why people make their homes energy efficient compared to just 16 per cent of those aged 65+.

Ian Pearson MP, Minister of State, Climate Change and the Environment said

“The Government is keen to raise awareness among householders of the impact of their individual action on climate change and the actions they can take to protect the environment and reduce their energy bills. We welcome research like this from the Home Heat Helpline into customer attitudes and actions, which builds on our understanding and will help the Government and other stakeholders, like energy suppliers, the energy efficiency industry and the Energy Saving Trust, to work effectively with householders to reduce their carbon footprint and take advantage of practical advice and support to improve the efficiency and comfort of their homes."

Regardless of the motives behind energy efficiency in the home the research showed that UK residents had an overwhelming desire to improve their homes energy efficiency and many had recently taken steps to improve their homes. 97 per cent of people believed it was important to make their homes energy efficient and two-thirds (65 per cent) had taken such steps in the last twelve months.

Where households are taking steps to conserve energy the research showed that there was a noticeable emphasis on steps that will reduce electricity consumption rather than saving valuable heat in the home.

The most popular steps all related to electricity savings:
- 82 per cent had used energy efficient light bulbs
- 58 per cent had turned off appliances at the wall
- 48 per cent had used economy program when washing clothes

The least chosen steps all related to heating savings:

- 26 per cent had used draft excluders on letter boxes and doors
- 21 per cent had insulated loft
- 18 per cent had double or triple glazed glazing
- 14 per cent had insulated hot water tanks or pipes

Duncan Sedgwick, Chief Executive of the Energy Retail Association added,

“Whilst households should be applauded for taking steps to reduce their electricity consumption it is worrying that so many households are ignoring ways to save heat energy through insulation. Insulation for your loft, pipes and walls can be installed free or at discounted prices through your energy supplier and can save you more than £300 a year through lower bills.”

One the most worrying aspects that emerged from the survey was the lack of knowledge about where to turn to for advice on energy efficiency and the very low number of individuals who had actively looked into whether they were entitled to grants to help insulate their home. The research showed that nearly a third of respondents (31 per cent) didn’t know where to go for energy savings advice and two-thirds of respondents (65 per cent) stated that they had never checked to see if they were eligible for government home energy efficiency grants.

To accompany the research Home Heat Helpline and IRT, the leading provider of thermo-imaging have produced a photograph which uses thermal imaging to show the heat that can escape from a badly insulated house.

Notes to Editors

Copies of the thermo-imaging can be obtained by contacting the Home Heat Helpline press office:

Four Communications
0870 420 3245
HHH@fourcommunications.com

Home Heat Helpline
Oliver Wright – 020 7747 5436
oliver.wright@energy-retail.org.uk

Home Heat Helpline – 0800 33 66 99

• 94 million energy wasting mistakes every month: represents the number of people admitting to making energy wasting mistakes every month, aggregated to reflect the total number of adults in the United Kingdom aged 18+ (46,613,000).

The Survey was conducted by Canvasse Opinion from Experian, who interviewed 1,848 adults (aged 18+) in the UK online, between the 9th – 15th February.

1. The Home Heat Helpline operates from Monday to Friday 9am-8pm and from 10am-2pm on Saturday. There is a free minicom number (0800 027 2122) and the Helpline also has access to interpreters for those callers whose first language is not English.

2. The Helpline is operated by The essentiagroup and is staffed by expert advisers, including former health professionals, who are trained to give advice on how to stay warm during the cold weather. They are also trained and authorised to deal with intermediaries calling on behalf of vulnerable customers, such as friends, carers, social workers or health visitors

3. The Home Heat Helpline was launched by the Energy Retail Association which was established in October 2003 and is the only dedicated trade association for domestic energy suppliers in the UK. More information can be found at www.energy-retail.org.uk

4. The Home Heat Helpline is a free service for all British citizens and is funded by Britain’s six major energy suppliers which is the only telephone helpline service that aims to tackle fuel poverty. The energy suppliers spent £300 million between 2002 – 2005 on tackling fuel poverty and have committed to spend a further £700 million over the next 3 years on this important issue.

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