Energy advice

Want to make your home cheaper to heat and easier to keep warm, visit Simple Energy Advice for impartial and independent recommendations for home improvements.

Other trusted websites for fuel and money-saving advice include:

• Energy Saving Trust
• British Gas Energy Trust
• E-on Energy
• Saving Energy
• Essex and Suffolk Water
• Anglian Water advice pages

Or call the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234.

Fix leaky loos for free

Essex and Suffolk Water offers a free service to fix leaking toilets, cutting down on water waste and saving money. No fuss, no cost.

Green Doctor by Groundwork

Green Doctor offers free impartial advice and support to help reduce your energy bills, live in a warmer comfortable home and save money.

The Energy Doctors is a free service for all Havering residents run by Age UK.

Professionals will visit your home and provide advice on energy efficiency.

They may also make small changes and repairs to your home, such as fitting draught excluders or LED lightbulbs.

To book an appointment for an Energy Doctor to visit your home, fill out the referral form, call 07943 877099 or email info@ageukeastlondon.org.uk.

The Government offers targeted support to help households upgrade their homes and reduce bills.

These schemes are often funded by energy companies, not taxpayers.

ECO4 Scheme

• Grants for eEnergy efficiency measures, including electric storage heaters or insulation for cavity walls or your loft.
• Eligibility: if you are on qualifying benefits, a homeowner or private tenant, and if your property falls under band F or G for energy efficiency. 

Check if you qualify for the scheme.

HEAT London

HEAT London wants to make homes in London warmer, healthier and more efficient.

They are able to offer:

• energy efficiency advice and guidance
• grants for first time central heating systems
• grants for boiler upgrades
• grants for other energy efficiency measures including loft insulation and cavity wall insulation
• grants for renewable heating

All subject to availability and eligibility.

Go to the HEAT London website to see if you qualify.

Bolier Upgrade Scheme

Through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, you could get a grant to cover part of the cost of replacing fossil fuel heating systems with a heat pump or biomass boiler.

Fossil fuel heating systems include oil, gas, electric or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas).

You can get one grant per property.

Current grants are available for:

• £7,500 towards an air source heat pump
• £7,500 towards a ground source heat pump (including water source heat pumps and those on shared ground loops)
• £5,000 towards a biomass boiler

Go to the GOV.UK boiler upgrade page to see if you are eligible.

Great British Insulation Scheme

You may be able to get free or cheaper insulation to reduce your home’s energy bills.

You might get support if your home:

• has an energy performance certificate (EPC) of D to G.
• is in Council Tax bands A-D in England or A-E in Scotland or Wales

You can be a homeowner, landlord or tenant (either renting privately or from a housing association).

If you’re a tenant, speak to your landlord before you apply.

You’ll need their permission before any insulation can be installed.

Check the GOV.UK website to see if you can get support.

Electric Car Grant

Some types of low-emission and zero-emission cars are eligible for a grant from the government, so you can buy them more cheaply.

You do not apply for the grant. The seller includes it as a discount in the purchase price.

To be eligible for a grant, the vehicle must:

• be an M1 passenger vehicle.
• produce 0gCO2/km at the tailpipe.
• have a minimum battery range of 100 miles (160km).
• have an 8-year warranty.
• meet minimum sustainability criteria.

Check the GOV.UK website for eligible cars.

SHINE is a London wide referral network, which offers a free energy advice service for Londoners.

They have a dedicated helpline and affordable warmth interventions to ensure households get the help and support they need to reduce utility bills and stay warm.

SHINE accepts referrals for any tenure of household i.e. owned or rented, but households need to have an income below £16,480 per year or have a family member in a SHINE target group (has a disability, long term health condition, child under 15 or an adult over 60).

SHINE offers: advice on saving energy and reducing bills grants available for heating and insulation support with energy and water debt water and electricity discounts inclusion in supplier vulnerable customer registers Energy Doctor home visits to install energy efficiency measures eg draught proofing doors and windows.

You can contact SHINE directly Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm on 0300 555 0195, or visit the SHINE website for more information.

Big Community Switch

Join forces with other residents to negotiate better energy deals.

• Free to join.
• Quick online registration.
• Suppliers compete for your business.

Register today for the switch

Solar Together

Group-buying for solar panels, EV chargers and battery storage.

• Lower costs.
• Guaranteed quality.
• No obligation to buy.

Go to the Solar Together London website to register

Take a look at these tips for how you can reduce your energy bills and live in a clean and safe environment.

All year round - General tips

Damp and mould

Our Council tenant - Resident safety page section on damp and mould, is mainly for council tenants and leaseholders to report problems so we can fix them but it also includes general advice that’s useful for everyone.

Getting around

• Walk, cycle, or take public transport.
• Don’t leave your car engine running if you are parked or stuck in traffic (idling).
• Change your driving style: change gear earlier, brake sooner and keep to the lower reaches of your rev range.
• Avoid using air con in your car.
• Look after your car: check oil, air filters and tyre pressure.
• Take a reusable water bottle with you on every journey.
• Consider car sharing when possible.

Eating and drinking

• Source food locally where possible.
• Buy seasonal fresh food.
• Throw less food away.
• Give up chewing gum. It takes 500 years to disintegrate!
• Eat fewer animal products, try Meat-Free Mondays.
• Wrap bread in waxed paper or fabric instead of Clingfilm.
• Choose FAIRTRADE goods.
• Avoid products which use palm oil. Forests are destroyed in order to produce it.

Shopping

• Shop locally if you can.
• Take your own shopping bags when you pop to the shops.
• Use refillable containers for dry goods if possible.
• Be careful with online returns. 30 to 40 percent of online goods are returned. 20 percent of these end up in landfill as they are not re-sold.

Everyday living

• Consider using reusable nappies and wipes for your little ones.
• Use charity shops for children's toys and books.
• Social media groups offer free clothes and toys that older children have outgrown.
• Try reusable period products if possible.
• Avoid glitter.
• Recycle all the waste products you can in Havering's orange bags.

In the winter

Service your boiler

Boilers need to be looked after if you want them to last longer and be more efficient. An annual boiler service will achieve that, but don't forget, it's vital that you use a Gas Safe Registered Engineer.

Keep the heat in

Lots of warmth escapes through windows, so close your curtains before darkness falls or while you are out to keep the heat in.

Wooden and tiled floors look lovely but they let heat escape, so putting a rug down will keep the heat in and keeps your toes warm.

Once your dinner comes out of the oven, why waste all that heat? Leave the oven door open to transfer the heat into your kitchen, but make sure you keep children and pets away from the door.

Bleed your radiators

As temperatures start to drop, don't forget to check that water is flowing through your radiators properly.

When the heating is on, touch to check the heat of the top and bottom of your radiator.

If the top is cool and the bottom is warm, you may need to bleed your radiator.

You can find out how to do this on Google.

Check out the Christmas lights

No Christmas tree is complete without all the decorations and lights, but remember LED lights use 90% less energy than conventional ones.

Remember to turn the lights off before you go to bed or even set them on timers.

Turn it down

Set your thermostat to a comfortable temperature, typically between 18 and 21ºC.

Even if it’s cold outside you do not need to turn your thermostat up, the house will heat up to the temperature set.

Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat should be set at 60ºC / 140ºF.

Change your lights

Use energy saving light bulbs, they last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs and using one can save you around £45 a year.

Remember to always turn off the lights when you leave a room.

Keep an eye on your appliances

Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave laptops and mobile phones on charge unnecessarily.

Leaving plugs switched on still uses energy even if the phone is not attached.

Be water efficient

Only boil as much water as you need.

A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath, so fix leaking taps and make sure they are fully turned off.

Be energy efficient

If possible, fill up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher. One full load uses less energy than two half loads.

If you have a programmer, set your heating and hot water to come on only when required rather than all the time.

In the summer

Keep your blinds closed

Keep your blinds closed, especially on north and west-facing windows, to significantly cool your home.

Better yet, invest in some block-out curtains to shield your home from that harsh summer sun.

Block the heat

Stopping heat getting into your house in the first place means spending less on cooling.

Shade windows and walls using external coverings, like blinds, awnings or large potted plants.

Plant deciduous trees that cast shade over your home in summer, but still let the sun shine through in winter.

If you can, invest in window tinting and top up your ceiling insulation. It will help keep the warmth in in winter too.

Just one degree Celsius more

Try not to use air conditioning, but if you must, set the thermostat to between 24-27ºC, or as high as you feel comfortable with.

Increasing your thermostat by just 1ºC in warm weather can reduce the running cost of your appliance by about 10 percent.

If you’re looking to upgrade your air-conditioner, pick one with a high energy-star rating and do your research to ensure you choose the right type of air-conditioner for your home.

Ceiling fans

Sometimes you might feel like ceiling fans just push the hot air around your home rather than cool it down. Well you’re not wrong – fans that aren’t rotating counter-clockwise may be doing just that.

Set your ceiling fans to rotate counter-clockwise in summer to push air straight down helping to create a cooling effect and clockwise in winter to pull cool air up.

In warmer weather, set the fan speed high and in cooler weather it works best on low.

Ceiling fans can also be used to complement other cooling types, so checking they rotate in the correct direction can make a world of difference to the temperature of your home.

Close doors and seal gaps

Close doors to rooms you aren’t using to keep cool air where you need it most.

Seal gaps around doors and windows, and use draught excluders to ensure the cool air can’t escape.

Hang out in the evening

Closing your windows and staying inside may be a great idea during the day, but when it gets cooler in the evening you may want to open your house up to cool your home naturally. Just make sure you lock up overnight.

Cooking dinner in the backyard may be a cooler alternative to being in a steamy kitchen too, so make the most of a cool breeze when you can.

Chill out, not chill on

Sip icy-cold drinks, apply a damp cloth to your neck and other pressure points on your body, or have a cold shower to cool your body without needing to switch the air-conditioner on.

Hack a fan

A cleverly-positioned bowl of ice is all you need to turn a fan into a cold mist machine.

Place a shallow bowl or pan of ice in front of a fan for an icy-cool breeze that won’t break the bank.

Choose cotton

Cotton fabrics are super breathable and help cool your body. Wear light, loose clothing made of breathable fabrics like cotton, and fit your bed with cotton sheets.

Change your light bulbs

If you’re having trouble cooling your home and can’t work out why, incandescent light bulbs might be to blame.

They produce a lot of heat, so switching to energy-saving bulbs can help cool your home and save heaps on energy costs. That’s a win-win.