Published on
24 October 2024
Get ready for winter with free energy advice
A range of support is available to help residents lower their energy bills and reduce their carbon footprint
With colder temperatures approaching, and energy costs remaining high, now is the ideal time to start thinking about how you can make your home more energy efficient.
There’s lots of information and ideas out there about the types of things you can do to reduce your energy costs, whether it’s changing the lightbulbs you use or investing in solar panels on your home.
It can be daunting sometimes to understand what the best options might be for your lifestyle, your budget, or whether it’s suitable for your home. This is especially true for those with limited disposable income who need to carefully weigh the costs of making changes against the longer term saving it might make.
Free practical advice
That’s where Wokingham Borough Council’s free Home Decarbonisation Advice Service (HDAS) can help.
The HDAS scheme was launched last October and since then has helped more than 140 residents make improvements to their home with practical impartial energy saving advice to make the most of the individual property they live in.
The HDAS team can also help advise on whether households might be eligible for any national or local support schemes available, such as the ECO Flex scheme which offers free, or subsidised, home insulation to qualifying households.
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.
Access to Plan Builder App
For residents who are thinking about making bigger changes to their homes but unsure where to start, the council also offers free access to the online Parity Projects Plan Builder App.
By inputting some basic information into Plan Builder, 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.
Residents can 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.
Helping create a greener borough
In addition to being set up to help residents struggling with the cost of living, the HDAS scheme is also aimed at supporting the council’s Climate Emergency dream of becoming a carbon neutral Wokingham Borough by 2030.
By helping make local homes more energy efficient people can reduce the carbon footprint of their home by reducing the amount of power required to run it day to day and minimising energy waste. More information on our Climate Emergency Action plan and how residents can reduce their carbon footprint can be found on our Climate Emergency Hub launched this summer.
Support that works for you
Cllr Jordan Montgomery, executive member for environment and climate emergency, said: “With so many people still struggling it’s great to be able to offer our residents support through schemes like HDAS which can help them lower their bills or find wider support. But it’s not just about saving money as schemes like this are multi layered, helping us address our climate targets as well.
“Many of the residents I talk to are keen to do their bit to help make Wokingham a greener borough, but just aren’t sure where to start. For some people it’s a case of taking small steps whilst for others they want to go all in. Services like HDAS can help with this and support people in reducing their carbon footprint in ways that work for them as well as for the environment.”
Additional advice and support
In addition to accessing HDAS and Plan Builder, residents can also find a range of advice and support to help prepare for winter, reduce their energy costs and lower their carbon emissions.
Get help with the cost of living crisis, paying your bills, financial support and more from our Cost of Living help hub, including advice on prepayment meter energy support and help with energy debt
- Get money to help if you’re struggling with food bills or energy costs with the latest round of our Household Support Fund
- Attend a drop-in Residents’ Reception session for help and advice on a range of topics from local organisations
- Find out more about staying well this winter from public health
- Get tips and ideas on how to save money and reduce your carbon footprint from the Energy Saving Trust on common themes including:
