Trade Association UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA) is supporting Fuel Poverty Awareness Day by promoting ways people can boost energy efficiency and stay warm over the winter months.
Fuel poverty is often caused by a combination of low income, high energy prices and inefficient homes. UKIFDA recommends:
Order heating oil early when demand is low. Bad weather in the height of winter can disrupt deliveries to remote and rural areas, resulting in individuals running out of fuel or having to pay higher prices for emergency deliveries.
Set up monthly payments to help spread the cost of heating oil and allow you to avoid large bills in the winter. It means you know what your monthly bills are and you can plan for your energy expenditure more easily.
Check to see if you are entitled to any benefits such as Winter Fuel Allowance and other support. Citizens Advice will be able to help with this.
Get your boiler serviced on a regular basis by an OFTEC registered engineer. If your boiler is getting old, it is worth upgrading to a condensing boiler as this will increase energy efficiency and reduce your energy bills.
Rural homes are often more expensive to heat and they tend to be older and without the energy efficiency of modern homes. Insulating your house is one relatively cheap way of keep the heat in and the energy costs down.
Fuel Poverty Awareness Day has been organised by National Energy Action (NEA) and is designed to raise awareness about the issues faced by individuals living in cold homes as a result of fuel poverty.
“The good news for those on oil is that recent figures released by independent provider of home heating costs, Sutherland Tables, says the cost to heat your home with oil is down in most regions of the UK between 2% and 8% when compared to last October. Heating oil also continues to deliver the most cost-effective method of heating to the off-grid customer with Sutherland Tables reporting that to heat a standard 3 bedroom home in the UK is £1106 per annum with an oil condensing boiler compared to an air source heat pump radiator system and underfloor system at £1381 per annum, wood pellets at £1426 per annum, an LPG condensing boiler at £1695 per annum and electricity economy 7 is £2060 per annum,” says Guy Pulham UKIFDA Cheif Executive.
If you would like to set up a monthly Direct Debit with Moorland Fuels, please call our office on 01837 57700.
