THE COUNCIL is encouraging residents to look into three different schemes that could help keep their homes warm.
As the winter months approach, households across the borough may find themselves eligible for funding to improve insulation and energy-efficient improvements.
“As people start to turn their thermostats up it’s the ideal time for us to think about our homes and whether they could be more energy efficient or less expensive to heat.” said Cllr Gregor Murray, executive member for climate emergency. “Not only is heating our houses a major contributor towards carbon emissions it’s also an increasing concern to many of our residents who are seeing crippling energy bills grow each year and don’t realise that installing insulation in their homes could save them hundreds of pounds and be effective for years.”
Three schemes are open to residents; the Help to Heat scheme, the Green Homes Grant and the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD).
The council-run Help to Heat programme offers free or heavily subsidised cavity wall and loft insulation to qualifying households.
Eligibility includes receiving certain benefits and having a household income below £35,000 after taxes. Or being on a list for people vulnerable to cold. This includes residents over 65 or with children under five or with a range of health conditions such as cardiovascular disease or cancer.
Mrs Pearce, a local homeowner having works done as part of the help to heat scheme said she was pleased to hear the scheme was available in Wokingham.
“I had insulation installed at my previous house under a similar scheme in a different area,” she said. “Having the work done made a huge difference to my home making it much warmer during the winter and even cooler during the summer months. I was really pleased when I heard something similar was being offered here and phoned up to find out more.”
The Green Homes Grant is a government-run scheme open to most homeowners and landlords. It includes vouchers up to £5,000, or £10,000 where households receive certain benefits, to part fund energy efficient and low-carbon heating improvements.
Cllr Murray said he was pleased the council was successful in its joint bid with Bracknell Forest Council for £900,000 of Green Homes Grant funding.
This, he said, could even be used to install solid wall insulation to park homes.
And the LAD scheme, also run by the council, helps households with an income of less than £30,000 make improvements to their homes. The council will offer residents a survey of their home before being offered work from this scheme.
This, along with the Help to Heat scheme, is being rolled out across the borough in partnership with local business Insta Group Ltd.
The company’s representative, Bob Smith, said he was pleased to be helping residents.
“We’ve been working in the industry for years all over the country and know that most people simply don’t understand the difference good insulation can make to the home,” he said. “They also believe that the work will be incredibly disruptive when in reality it can be installed really quickly and, in the case of most cavity wall insulation jobs, even from outside.”
For more information, visit: greenhomesgrant.campaign.gov.uk
