News and opinion

Positive solutions for cold homes

Fuel Poverty Awareness Day is this Friday, 23 February. We shine a light on some positive solutions to the problems faced by those struggling to keep warm.

Bannister House was Hackney’s first community solar installation, developed by Repowering London in partnership with local estate residents and Hackney Council, and delivered using funds raised through a community share offer.

Cold homes are not only uncomfortable to live in but can have severe ill effects on health and wellbeing. Fuel poverty affects an estimated 11% of households in England, according to the Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics Report. A household in England is considered to be fuel poor if:

  • they have required fuel costs that are above average (the national median level).
  • were they to spend that amount, they would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line.

In Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, a fuel poor home is one which needs to spend more than 10% of its income on energy to adequately heat the household.

We have a number of UK Ashden Award winners who are dedicated to tackling this issue. Have a look through the gallery to see how our winners are helping people save money and have warmer, healthier homes.

Since I have had heat I keep the whole house at 20C. My vitiligo has started to fill in, and I no longer have a chest infection in winter which takes six months to clear.

Beneficiary of the CHiL scheme

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