Get advice from the Energy Saving Trust on how to make your home more efficient, reduce your carbon footprint and lower your energy bills.
"I want to know what help is available to me to manage my home."
With rising energy costs, we understand how difficult it is to keep your home warm on a budget. We have some top tips on saving money on your energy bills. Plus information on various local or government-backed schemes that can help you.
Here’s what help you can get from your energy suppliers:
Priority services register
All energy suppliers and network operators offer a free support service to help people in vulnerable situations. This is called the priority services register.
You will qualify for this service if you:
You might still be able to register for other reasons if your situation isn’t listed. For example, if you need short-term support after a stay in hospital.
Find out more about the Priority Services Register, including what help you can get on the Ofgem website.
You must register directly with your gas and electricity supplier. You can find out how to contact your energy supplier on the Ofgem website.
Warm home discount scheme
You may be able to get money off your winter electricity under the warm home discount scheme.
With this scheme, the government directs energy suppliers to apply a one-off discount to the energy bills. You must qualify to receive this discount, which is for the period of October to March.
YORSwitch
If you have been with your current energy supplier for a few years, you may find that you can save money on your gas and electricity by switching your supplier. If you are not sure where to start, then our collective energy scheme - YORswitch - can help.
The scheme uses the collective buying power of all the residents that have joined the scheme to encourage energy suppliers to outbid each other for your custom. This is carried out through a reverse auction.
We’ll then tell you details of the energy tariff that offers the best deal and offer you a new contract. You are under no obligation to accept the offer.
Find out more about YORswitch, including how to register, on the East Riding of Yorkshire Council website.
You may qualify for help from the government towards the cost of your energy bills:
Cold weather payment
You may be able to get help with your heating costs during extremely cold weather if you receive:
You’ll get a payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees celsius or below over 7 consecutive days. This scheme runs between 1 November and 31 March.
Find out more about cold weather payments on the GOV.UK website.
Winter fuel payment
If you are an older person, you may qualify to receive a payment of between £100 and £300 towards your heating costs. The exact amount you receive depends on your age and whether other people in your household also qualify.
You can find out more about the winter fuel payment on the GOV.UK website
If you are a homeowner and you need help with insulating or heating your home, you may be able to apply for help from our healthy homes team.
Who qualifies for help
To qualify for help you must:
If you have any questions about whether you qualify, you can contact us by either of the following methods:
What help is available
Our healthy homes team can:
Heating-related maintenance tasks include:
How is the work funded
Funding may be available from a range of sources, such as:
Please note: if you qualify for funding, you may still be asked to contribute towards the cost of any work carried out.
How to access help
This scheme is accessed by referral only, this means you can not apply directly.
If you would like help from the healthy homes team, please speak with your adult social care support worker. We can also receive a referral from your welfare agency or a charitable organisation.
When we we have received the referral form, we’ll contact you for some extra information about your situation. We’ll also ask you to complete some forms related to your income and expenditure.
Condensation can cause dampness and mould growth in your home. This looks unpleasant and can increase your risk of developing a respiratory illness.
How condensation is created
Condensation starts as moisture in the air. It is usually produced while:
When the moisture hits cold surfaces, such as walls, mirrors, wall tiles and windows, it condenses and forms water droplets. The moist air rises when it’s warm and often ends up on ceilings and in upstairs rooms.
If condensation is not treated
Left untreated, condensation can result in mould growth on walls, ceilings, furniture, furnishings, and clothing in cupboards and drawers.
It can also affect wall plaster and cause woodwork to rot.
Tips to reduce condensation in your home
To try to combat mould from forming in your home it is important to keep moisture in your home to a minimum.
To produce less moisture in your home, you can:
You also need to make sure you ventilate your home to remove any excess moisture. Kitchens and bathrooms are usually where the most moisture collects so we’d recommend that you:
In the rest of the house: