Offering residents free advice to make their homes more energy efficient

Wokingham Borough Council has launched a new Home Decarbonisation Advice Service (HDAS) this week (Monday 2 October) aimed at supporting residents who want to make their home more energy efficient and potentially reduce their energy bills.

The free service will allow residents to contact the council to get practical, impartial advice on the changes they might make to their properties. Giving them a better understanding on how these might improve the energy efficiency of their homes and the potential benefits these could give from carbon emissions to financial savings.

Residents may also be signposted towards support schemes they may be eligible for, such as the ECO Flex scheme which offers free, or subsidised, home insulation to qualifying households. 

Helping people understand the benefits of changes they can make

In addition to offering advice and signposting through the Home Decarbonisation Advice Service, the council is also offering residents who live in the borough, free access to the Parity Projects Plan Builder App . This online estimation tool is aimed at residents who have their own money to invest on projects to improve their home but are unsure on what they could do or the potential savings these might give.

By inputting some basic information into the Plan Builder App, such as their address and potential budget available, they will receive a range of options to consider with estimated costs for making the change and an estimate of annual savings they could make on their fuel bill and CO2 emissions. From this they can assess the payback time for different ideas and decide what works best for them.

Offering support and advice

Cllr Sarah Kerr, executive member for climate emergency and resident services, said: “Whether it’s for those struggling with the cost of living and rising energy bills, or those wanting to live greener lifestyles and reduce their CO2 emissions there’s a real focus on making our homes more energy efficient. However, it’s often hard for people to know where to start.

”Whether your budget runs to just a few pounds, or to thousands, it can be daunting to understand what might work for you and your home, and no one want’s to make a costly mistake. Our Home Decarbonisation Advice Service aims to help demystify this for residents and give them the advice they need to find the right solution or support. By empowering people to start making their own improvements we can also help reduce pressure on other council services and help with our wider ambitions to reduce carbon emissions across the borough.”

How to access advice

Residents interested in accessing advice from the Home Decarbonisation Advice Scheme can contact the council’s Customer Service team on the website or by phone on 0118 974 6000.

Residents will then be signposted to the relevant information they need, or referred to the council’s Energy team who will be able to give more detailed advice.

Residents can also access the Parity Projects Plan Builder App directly without contacting the council first. A Wokingham borough address must be used and advice cannot be given on properties outside of the borough.