We think of England as an affluent country, free from many of the social problems affecting smaller countries, but it’s simply not the case; a combination of factors has seen England have the second highest rates of fuel poverty in Europe, only behind Estonia in the EU.

That means that between 10% and 12% of households in the UK can’t afford to keep their home adequately warm at a reasonable cost, given their income; that’s as many as 4 million households being left in the cold.

So, what has caused this increase in fuel poverty?

The issue of fuel poverty in the UK has been worsened by the implementation of recent policy changes; the introduction of Universal Credit — which has left households for five weeks without any income during benefits changeover — has pushed more and more people towards making potentially dangerous decisions relating to the heating of their home. Many are facing the heart-breaking dilemma of ‘heat or eat’.

These high levels of fuel poverty have a range of consequences; the worst being a significant contributor to more than 28,000 winter deaths occurring in England and Wales each year.

What can be done to help curb the problem?

The Energy and Utilities Alliance, an organisation designed to provide a leading industry voice to help shape future policy direction within the energy sector, says that government policy doesn’t do enough to recognise how vulnerable or marginalised people living in fuel poverty are, and how the issue needs substantial investment and better policy to fix.

Their first recommendation for homes living in fuel poverty is to make those houses more energy efficient. But if you can’t afford to replace an aging, inefficient boiler, or your landlord refuses to buy a new one, it’s hard to know what cost-effective steps you can take to try and tackle the problem.

Get a CombiSave fitted in your home

Our CombiSave ‘fit and forget’ combi-boiler device can help you reduce the amount of water and gas used in the initial heating process of your water. As well as being good for the environment, it can save you up to £250 a year, which could make a difference when people are making decisions that can effect a range of other areas in their lives.

Installation is also easy; you can have it installed on to your existing pipework close to the combi-boiler in just minutes. Once fitted, it restricts the flow of water until it’s reached the correct heat, potentially saving 28,000 litres of water each year and plenty of gas. It also has the added bonus of making your home more environmentally friendly.

Proactive steps like this needn’t cost the earth — and can make a real difference in getting out of fuel poverty. If you want to start saving water, gas, time and money, find out more about the CombiSave here: https://www.teddingtonheating.com/combisave/