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Advice on energy efficiency home improvements

Home Energy Advice North East

Supporting people across the North East to reduce their energy bills and make energy saving home improvements.  All support is impartial and delivered by in-house experts at Energy Saving Trust.

Click here to learn more about support available. 

Free impartial advice available to Sunderland residents to reduce their energy bills and make energy saving home improvements. 

  • Use the Homewise online tool. Create a tailored plan to make your home more energy efficient, save money and cut carbon emissions.
  • Get face to face energy advice and supportin your own home, delivered in partnership with Groundwork North East and Cumbria.

Find out more and request your visit here.

Call us for advice

For support and advice on improving the energy efficiency of your home, call our energy advisors free on 0808 175 9345.

Our phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays). 

 

Whether it's information on the different ways to heat your home, reduce heat loss from your home, renewable energy generation or buying energy efficient products, we've got it covered:

 

Heating your home

Having an efficient heating system running on a low carbon fuel is one of the most important steps you can take to reduce your fuel bills and your carbon emissions.

In a typical household, over half of the fuel bills are spent on heating and hot water. An efficient heating system that you can control easily can help reduce your fuel bills and reduce your carbon emissions.

Find out more about different efficient heating systems:

Heat pumps

There are two types that are most common in the UK: 

  • air source
  • ground source

Which one is better suited to you largely depends on your budget and how much outdoor space you have.

They are suitable for most houses in the UK. Despite this, several 'myths' hold people back from adopting the technology. Click here to find out more about: Four common heat pump myths: busted

For England and Wales, you can get a grant for up to £7,500 to replace a fossil fuel boiler with a heat pump. For more information, visit: Boiler Upgrade Scheme - GOV.UK

 

Electric heating

Electric heating refers to any system that uses electricity as the main energy source to heat the home. It covers many types of heating, but for most people it would mean either storage heaters, electric boilers or underfloor heating. 

Solar water heating

Solar water heating systems, or solar thermal systems, use energy from the sun to warm water for storage in a hot water cylinder or thermal store. Because the amount of available solar energy varies throughout the year, a solar water heating system won't provide 100% of the hot water required throughout the year. A conventional boiler or immersion heater is normally used to make up the difference.

Click on the below link for further information on different efficient heating systems by the Energy Saving Trust.

Help and advice for heating your home - Energy Saving Trust

 

 

Reducing heat loss from your home

If you want to reduce your carbon emissions and keep your energy bills low, installing insulation will reduce heat loss.

There are many effective ways to insulate your home, which can significantly reduce heat loss while lowering your heating bills.

Cavity wall insulation

About a third of all the heat lost in an uninsulated home escapes through the walls. By properly insulating cavity walls, you will save energy and cut costs off your heating bill.

In general, houses built from the 1990s onwards have wall insulation to keep the heat in, but if your house is older than that, it may not have any wall insulation at all.

Houses in the UK mostly have either solid walls or cavity walls:

  • If your house was built after the 1920s, it is likely to have cavity walls. A cavity wall is made up of two walls with a gap in between, known as the cavity; the outer leaf is usually made of brick, and the inner layer of brick or concrete block.
  • Pre-1920 older houses are more likely to have solid walls. A solid wall has no cavity; each wall is a single solid wall, usually made of brick or stone.

Solid wall insulation

Insulating your solid walls could cut your heating costs considerably, and make your home more comfortable.

If your home was built before the 1920s, its external walls are probably solid walls rather than cavity walls.

  • Solid walls have no gap, so they can't be filled with cavity wall insulation.
  • Cavity walls are made of two layers with a small gap or 'cavity' between them.

Solid walls can be insulated though - either from the inside or the outside. This will cost more than insulating a standard cavity wall, but the savings on your heating bills will be bigger too.

Floor insulation

Insulating your ground floor is a great way to keep your property warm. Generally speaking, you only need to insulate the ground floor. If you're on an upper floor, you don't usually need to insulate your floor space.

However, you should consider insulating any floors that are above unheated spaces such as garages, as you could be losing a lot of heat through those.

Roof and loft insulation

A quarter of heat is lost through the roof in an uninsulated home. Insulating your loft, attic or flat roof is an effective way to reduce heat loss and reduce your heating bills.

Installed correctly, loft insulation should pay for itself many times over in its 40-year lifetime.

Draught-proofing

Draught-proofing is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to save energy - and money - in any type of building.

Controlled ventilation helps reduce condensation and damp, by letting fresh air in when needed. However, draughts are uncontrolled: they let in too much cold air and waste too much heat.

To draught-proof your home, you should block up unwanted gaps that let cold air in and warm air out. Saving warm air means you'll use less energy to heat your home, so you'll save money as well as making your home snug and warm.

Windows and doors

Making your doors, windows and conservatory more energy efficient will reduce your energy bills and lower your carbon footprint.

Energy efficient glazing covers both double and triple glazing. These are windows with two or more glass panes in a sealed unit. You can also improve the energy efficiency of your home by installing secondary glazing, or even by using heavy curtains.

Insulating tanks, pipes and radiators

Insulating your water tank and radiators is a quick and easy way to save money on your bills. Insulating behind your radiators helps keep your home warmer and insulating a hot water tank helps keep the water hotter for longer.

 

Renewable energy generation

It's possible to generate your own electricity and heat from renewable, natural sources of energy, such as the sun or wind. These can help lower your electricity bills and your emissions.

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy comes from a source that doesn't run out or is self-replenishing.

These sources tend to have no or low carbon emissions. This is why they also tend to be called 'green' or 'clean' energy.

They include:

  • solar energy from the sun
  • wind power
  • hydroelectric and tidal energy from the sea
  • geothermal energy from heat inside the earth

What is non-renewable energy?

The features of non-renewable energy, as you might expect, are the opposite. These energy sources:

  • will eventually run out
  • aren't self-replenishing
  • have high carbon dioxide emissions

These sources include:

  • coal and peat
  • natural gas
  • petroleum

The world's reliance on these energy sources is contributing to the climate emergency because they produce greenhouse gases as they burn. So, the sooner we start using more renewable sources of energy, the better.

What are the benefits of generating renewable energy?

If you generate renewable electricity at home, you can use it to power electrical appliances, or even your electric vehicle. This lowers the amount of electricity you import and pay for from the grid.

What type of renewable energy is right for me?

There are different technologies available, each with their own benefits.

Solar energy

Solar panels are the most common domestic renewable energy source in the UK.

Also known as photovoltaics (PV), solar panels capture the sun's energy and convert it into electricity. They don't need direct sunlight to work and can generate electricity even on cloudy days.

Sunlight is free, so once you've paid for the initial installation, your electricity costs will be lower.

Wind power

Wind farms are now a common sight around the UK. They work when wind forces rotor blades around, driving a turbine that generates electricity. The stronger the wind, the more energy produced.

Domestic wind turbines generally aren't suitable if you live in a built-up area. But if your house is in an exposed or isolated location, it could be a suitable renewable energy option.

Wind is free, so once you've paid for the installation, you'll save money on your electricity bills.

Hydroelectricity

If you live near a river or a stream, a hydroelectric energy system might be worth considering.

Hydropower systems work in a similar way to wind turbines, where flowing water turns a turbine, which is used to generate electricity. The greater the flow of water, the more energy is generated.

Low carbon heating

These technologies don't directly harness a renewable energy source. But they're considered to be low carbon because they're much more efficient than traditional fossil fuel systems.

 

 

 

Buying energy efficient products

Moving to energy efficient appliances can be an excellent way to save money on your bills, as well as reducing your carbon emissions.

Lighting

Energy efficient lighting helps lower electricity bills and carbon emissions, all without reducing the quality of light in our homes.

If you replace all the bulbs in your home with LED lights, you could reduce your annual carbon emissions by up to 35kg.

Home appliances

Energy efficiency ratings

When you're buying a new appliance for your home, its energy rating will tell you how much energy that appliance uses. This can help you choose an appliance that uses less energy while performing its task.

Energy ratings for home appliances are there to help you understand the energy efficiency, running costs and carbon emissions of products.

The energy rating scale runs from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient, and G the least energy efficient.

What appliances have energy ratings?

Here are a list of home appliances and products which have energy ratings: 

  • Fridges, freezers, and fridge-freezers
  • Washing machines
  • Dishwashers
  • Televisions
  • Tumble dryers
  • Ovens

What should I do with my old appliances?

You should dispose of electrical items carefully due to the nature of their materials.

If you have an appliance with an image of a wheelie bin with a cross on it, don't put it in your general household rubbish. These items include large white goods and energy saving lightbulbs.

By keeping waste electrical equipment separate from other waste, the hazardous substances can be removed and other parts can be recycled. This helps them avoid being sent to landfill.

Take your old equipment to your nearest household waste and recycling centre.

It's simple and easy to book your appointment to use the household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) at Pallion (Sunderland) and Campground (Wrekenton). Click to find out more: Household waste and recycling centres - Sunderland City Council

For collecting bulky waste visit: Bulky waste collections - Sunderland City Council There may be a charge for this service.

Alternatively, if you're buying new electrical appliances, the law obligates retailers to either:

  • take your old appliances off you for free in store.
  • tell you where you can take your old item for recycling free of charge.

Many retailers offer collection of old appliances from your home, although they're not obliged to do this.

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