A warm welcome from Christine McGourty at the Home Heat Helpline

At the start of the year, we experienced some of the coldest weather for nearly thirty years and an unprecedented number of people turned to our expert advisers at the Home Heat Helpline for help and advice on keeping warm and paying their energy bills.

We have been supported by Coronation Street and ‘Popstar to Opera Star’ Kym Marsh who joined our campaign to help highlight areas across the country where people are missing out on saving money on gas and electricity. Our ‘Missing Millions’ research found that 3.6 million households across Great Britain are losing out on savings of up to £250 a year off their energy bills.

Kym Marsh has now embarked on a tour of the country in a ‘pop-up living room’ to highlight the help available. This newsletter provides more details of where you can catch Kym and find out more about the Helpline.

With more Arctic weather expected, we want to provide you with as much valuable information and resources as you need to help those in your community who may be worried about their energy bills. Call the Home Heat Helpline today (0800 33 66 99) to request the leaflets, posters and copies of our energy efficiency guide or visit our website at: www.homeheathelpline.org.uk.

We would be delighted to hear from you.
 

Home Heat Helpline in the news

Our 2009 – 2010 campaign launched back in November with widespread media coverage of the Missing Millions hot spots across the country, thanks to our ‘Missing Millions’ research undertaken by independent think tank, the New Policy Institute (NPI), and our celebrity ambassador, Kym Marsh.

The Home Heat Helpline issued a 'cold snap weather alert' ahead of the recent freezing conditions, and had expert advisors on hand to take calls after issuing the latest energy efficiency advice on reducing bills in the new year. Read more »

This issue's must reads: The Daily Mirror and BBC News encouraged people to find out what help they are entitled to by calling the Home Heat Helpline, while Kym Marsh shared her story of struggling to keep her young family warm with The Sun. If you are wondering how it is possible to reduce the cost of heating and make your home more energy efficient as part of a prosperous 2010, The Times offers some great advice, and if you are after information on what wider help is available during the cold snap, the BBC provides a Q&A that includes the Home Heat Helpline.
 

Saving energy and reducing your bills

The Home Heat Helpline has recently launched ‘The Little Book of Energy’ at events for politicians in Cardiff, Holyrood and Westminster. This free guide on the ways to save energy and reduce your bills is the first of its kind in the U.K. In this edition of The Heat is On, we give you practical information from the booklet to help those you know who might be worried about their energy bills this winter.

We can all do more to manage our energy consumption by changing the way we use energy in our homes. We don’t have to live in the dark or stop using the heating. It’s about being more energy efficient.

In Britain, our homes are responsible for over a quarter of the carbon dioxide emissions that harm our environment – so by reducing our bills and saving cash, we’re also helping the planet. Top energy tips include:

• Having cavity wall and loft insulation fitted can save you up to £250 a year on your energy bills. Home Heat Helpline research shows 3.6 million households across the country are missing out on these significant savings. To see if your community is missing out on savings, click here
• If your boiler is more than 15 years old, it should be replaced. Grants are available to help with the cost of getting a new one.
• Turning your thermostat down by one degree centigrade can cut the cost of your heating by 10 per cent.
• Make sure radiators and heaters are not blocked by furniture or covered by curtains – otherwise the heat will literally disappear out the window.

To order free copies of the Little Book of Energy or our other leaflets and posters call the Home Heat Helpline or order online.
 

Home Heat Helpline hits the road

The Home Heat Helpline is travelling the country with a 'pop up living room'. Visiting shopping centres, Kym Marsh and a team of expert energy advisors are on hand to help people access services and information to reduce their bills.

The first stop on the tour was Birmingham, where the living room made its debut at the Paradise Forum on Wednesday 20 January. Local people came out in force to chat with Kym Marsh and find out how they can best cope during the recent cold spell. Kym also found the time to pop into ITV Central's studios to chat on-air about the Helpline.

On Saturday 23 January, Kym and the Home Heat Helpline living room visited the White Rose Centre in Leeds, followed by the St Enochs Centre, Glasgow on Wednesday 27 January - where she chatted to fans and media about the free Helpline service and her experience as a young single mother before finding fame.
Read more »

We would love you to come along and show your support for the Helpline as we come to a shopping centre near you:

• Queen's Arcade, Cardiff - Friday 5 February from 10am
• Bristol - dates to be confirmed soon

MPs back the Helpline

A number of MPs from across different political parties have urged their constituents to contact the Helpline during this cold snap. An Early Day Motion that was tabled by Liberal Democrat MP Sir Robert Smith on the 19th January encourages MPs not to forget the important work of the Home Heat Helpline during this cold winter. Please encourage your local MP to do the same by signing EDM 653.