Home Heat Helpline: A Fact Sheet
As the weather gets colder and households turn on their heating, the Home Heat Helpline is reminding people worried about staying warm this winter that there is lots of help available – from financial assistance to practical advice on managing their energy bills.
What is the Home Heat Helpline?
The Home Heat Helpline is a free, impartial and confidential service that connects people or families on low incomes or those in poor health with financial help and practical advice on how to manage their energy bills.
How can the Home Heat Helpline help me?
The Home Heat Helpline can give you advice on: Rebates – helping to get money off your energy bills. Some great ways to save energy and money – including grants available for things like insulation and new boilers. What other benefits you might be eligible for. The Priority Services Register – this is the industry’s disconnection safety net and means vulnerable customers will not be cut off even if they are unable to pay their bill. Who else you can contact for other types of help (such as debt advice).
Who should get in touch?
We encourage anyone on a low income or in poor health to call. You can also call the Helpline on behalf of a friend, relative or client.
How can I contact you? You can speak to one of our friendly, expert advisers on our free helpline by calling 0800 33 66 99. There’s also lots of information at www.homeheathelpline.org.uk including a simple energy checker that shows if you could be eligible for help. And for those with hearing difficulties the minicom number is 0800 027 2122.
When can I call?
The Home Heat Helpline is open 9am-6pm, Monday to Friday. And remember, it’s absolutely free.
Why should I call now?
It’s never too early or too late to prepare for cold weather. By calling the Home Heat Helpline now you can access advice and grants to insulate your home for free in time for the winter.
Helen Jennings, 59, called the Home Heat Helpline when her boiler broke as she was worried about how she was going to keep warm during the winter.
―When I called the Home Heat Helpline, the adviser I spoke to was brilliant and they told me all about the help that was available. As I am an ex servicewomen they put me in touch with the Royal British Legion who along with the local council funded my new boiler which is worth £3,000. The help I received has made such a difference to my life and now during the winter, I know I can keep my home warm and I’m not constantly worried about my boiler breaking down‖.
Top tips to keep your house warm without waste
Keeping your house warm and energy efficient can be a difficult balance, but do it right and it could save you money. Here are 10 steps to get you on your way:
Keep the heat in. A third of cost of heating your home is lost through the walls, so insulating them is the best way to save energy in the home. Installing cavity wall insulation can save you up to £160 per year on your heating bills.
Look up. Laying your loft with 10 inches/25 centimetres of insulation can save you a quarter of your home’s heating costs.
See the light. Replacing just one old light bulb with an energy saving recommended one can reduce lighting costs by up to £78 over the lifetime of the bulb. Plus they last up to 12 times longer than the ordinary light bulbs.
Say goodbye to the old boiler. If yours is over 15 years old consider switching to a new energy efficient one. High efficiency condensing boilers can save up to a third of your annual heating bills, and there are grants available to help cover the cost.
Get on down. Turning your thermostat down by 1˚C could cut your heating bills by up to 10 per cent and save you around £100 a year.
Don’t get in hot water. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat shouldn’t need to be set any higher than 60ºC/140ºF.
Turn it off. Don’t leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily. It all adds up and wastes money.
Wash wisely. Remember to use the half-load or economy programmes if you’re not filling up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher.
Care for your kettle. Only boil as much water as you need — but remember to cover the elements if you’re using an electric kettle.
Mend the drips. A dripping hot water tap can waste enough hot water to fill half a bath in just one week, so fix leaking taps and make sure they’re all fully turned off.
You have nothing to lose and possibly lots to gain by contacting the Helpline
Home Heat Helpline: Key Information
The Home Heat Helpline is a free, impartial and confidential service that connects people on low incomes with financial help and practical advice on managing their energy bills.
How can people contact the Home Heat Helpline? There are two ways to get in contact. Firstly, there is lots of information at homeheathelpline.org.uk – including a simple energy checker that shows if people may be eligible for help. People can also call the freephone number, 0800 33 66 99, to talk to a friendly, expert adviser on a confidential basis.
Who is the helpline aimed at?
We encourage anyone on a low income or in poor health to call the Home Heat Helpline as they may be eligible for help with their energy bills. In particular the Home Heat Helpline seeks to provide advice and help to:
Over 60’s on benefits People on benefits with young children Disabled people on benefits
Why should people contact the Home Heat Helpline?
The Home Heat Helpline offers independent and free advice through a team of trained advisers who are on hand to help people negotiate what many can view as a complex system. Expert advisers give callers quick, clear information on the grants, benefits and payment schemes people may be entitled to as well as advice on how to make homes more energy efficient. Advisers can put callers in direct contact with their energy suppliers, providing a full brief on their circumstances and advice on what they may be entitled to.
What kind of advice does the Home Heat Helpline offer?
Advisers will provide guidance on consumer energy issues or engaging with energy companies. This includes:
o Guidance on whether callers may be eligible for discounts, rebates or a free insulation grant from their energy supplier.
o Information about the various measures and schemes available to help increase energy efficiency such as The Warm Front Scheme Information about the Priority Services Register – this is the industry’s disconnection safety net and means vulnerable customers will not be cut off even if they are unable to pay their bill.
o Details about energy companies’ debt relief programmes.
o Information about smart meters, including an explanation of how they work and how to use them.
o A description of the different ways people can pay for their energy.
o How to provide meter readings, and an explanation of why they are important
o An explanation of how energy bills are calculated.
o Information about the Energy UK Safety Net which exists to protect vulnerable customers from disconnection.
Advisers will also provide energy savings tips, and general energy efficiency advice.
Advisers will also provide general information about some state benefits and help people in assessing whether they may be eligible.
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