Home upgrade grant

Norfolk Warm Homes is a partnership programme led by Broadland District Council to provide energy-efficient home improvement works.

No cost energy saving tips

• Turn down your central heating by 1°C, it can save up to 10% of your heating fuel, taking 10% off your bill! Turning your thermostat from 22°C to 21°C could save you £100 and 305kg of carbon dioxide annually.*
• Do not leave TVs or other electrical devices on standby, switch them off at the wall. Leaving them on standby uses up to 50% of the electricity they use when they are on. Avoiding standby and turning appliances off when not using them could save up to £55 and 45kg of carbon dioxide annually.*
• Choose a green electricity tariff and get your electricity from renewable sources, due to the rising costs of fossil fuels, this may not be the expensive option it used to be.
• Switch off the lights when you leave a room, turning off your lights when you don't need them could save you around £20 on your annual energy bills and avoid 18kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year.*
• Hang laundry on a clothes line to dry, tumble driers use huge amounts of energy.
• Only use your washing machine or dishwasher when you have a full load, half-load settings typically use as much as 80% of the power of a complete cycle.
• Wash your clothes at 30°C, washing at 30°C rather than higher temperatures could save £13 and 11kg of carbon dioxide a year.*
• Avoid filling the kettle with more water than you need.
• Install a smart meter that tells you how much energy you use in pounds and pence. Your supplier is responsible for fitting any smart metering equipment request a smart meter for your home.

Low cost energy saving tips

• Replace your light bulbs with energy-efficient ones, you can save £6 for every old-fashioned 60W incandescent bulb in a light fixture you replace with an LED equivalent.* They are now very cheap to buy from local supermarkets, DIY stores and electrical retailers.
• Draught-proof your home, draught-proofing windows and doors can save around £45 and 105kg of carbon dioxide a year.*
• Fit an insulating jacket on your hot water tank, insulating a hot water cylinder with an 80mm jacket could save around £200 and 690kg of carbon dioxide a year.*
• Insulate floors by filling gaps in the floorboards and skirting boards, it can save around £20 a year. Solid floor or suspended floor insulation could save around £75 and 185kg of carbon dioxide a year.*

Higher cost energy saving tips

• Check your loft and cavity wall fibre insulation, and see if it is up to current standards (270mm/11 inches). It can save as much as £250 per year on your energy bills and 620kg of carbon dioxide.*

• If you are buying a new appliance, choose an energy-efficient one; look for the Energy Star logo on IT equipment and the Energy Saving Recommended label on kitchen appliances. In most cases, an A-rated appliance is the best, but be aware that the ratings for fridges and freezers go up to A++.

• Install renewable energy on your home, such as solar electricity or a wind turbine, when appropriate. Not only does this reduce your energy bills, but it also generates clean, renewable energy, drastically reducing your household carbon emissions. For more details, please read the Ofgem guidance on feed-in tariffs.

• Install solar water heating panels on your roof. A typical domestic system will cost between £3,000 and £5,000 to install. On average, solar water heating will save £50 to £80 per year off your heating bills.

• Upgrade your windows by installing A-rated double glazing in an entirely single-glazed home, which could save around £155 and from around 375kg of carbon dioxide a year.*

• Replace your old boiler with an energy-efficient one that can save up to 20% of your heating bill. With carbon emissions in mind, you might want to consider an air source heat pump where you can get £7500 off. Apply for the government's boiler upgrade scheme.

• Before making significant decisions about your house, consider getting independent advice on what is suitable for your home.
• When carrying out work, make sure to use credited installers (for example, Trustmark or MCS certified) and get multiple quotes to compare prices.
• The general advice on retrofitting your home is to consider fabric changes (such as insulation) before making more significant changes like heat pumps. Always try using less energy before generating your own as it will always be more cost-effective.