Associate feature: How do we make homes both warmer and greener?

“I didn’t have hot water for 15 years because I couldn’t afford it. Now, it’s quite a novelty. You go and turn on the tap just because you know you’ve got hot water” – Warmworks customer Hazel Farquharson from Angus. 

We’re all too sharply aware of the impact of the rise in global energy prices and how these have squeezed household budgets over the last few years. The reality of the endless struggle to stay affordably warm at home is that millions of homes are having to make impossible choices every day. 

As the Managing Agent for the Scottish Government’s national fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland, Warmworks saw demand for the scheme more than double in 2023/24 compared to the average levels across the two preceding years. That’s tens of thousands more homes and families in need of help and support to stay warm.  

Warmer Homes Scotland puts a strong emphasis on reducing bills by making homes more energy efficient, lowering bills for the long-term through better insulation. However, the scheme also provides support for zero emissions renewable technologies such as air source heat pumps and solar panels, proving that bills can be lowered at the same time as lowering emissions from homes. This means that those people who would otherwise not be able to make the transition to net zero on their own are brought along as part of the journey.

The Scottish Government has a target to eliminate all greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, and we are playing an active role in achieving that goal. Across all the energy efficiency contracts Warmworks delivers, in the last year we installed nearly 1,500 zero-emissions technologies, which is a new record for just one year of our activity. Crucially, our approach is based on installing the right technologies in the right homes, treating every home and family as an individual and making sure that we design, fit and quality assure the highest quality installations. We also have dedicated aftercare and post-installation support to give our customers extra help and guidance if they’re transitioning to new technology. 

And we know that our customers are benefitting from this approach. Mrs I from Shetland was heating her home using an old oil boiler and was finding it difficult to keep herself warm. Our local registered and accredited installer replaced her system with an air source heat pump, solar panels and a battery to store any extra energy generated. Ms I has commented on the positive change of moving to a low-carbon heating system, saying: “I am so pleased. Thank you to everyone for what I have been offered – I truly believe it is life changing. I am so happy to get away from an oil heating system and can move to electricity; I feel like I’m playing my part in protecting the environment.”

Another Warmworks customer, Ms D from Thurso, had an air source heat pump fitted under the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme and she’s noted that it’s helping her to keep her home more affordably warm, saying: “I’ve got a young family, and this has made a real difference to how we live. My house was cold and damp, but now I can afford to keep it warm without putting a huge strain on my finances.”

Warmworks is working to lift people across Scotland out of fuel poverty, and we have shown that this can be done as a vital enabler of our wider net zero ambitions. Our team is happy to arrange visits and first-hand discussions with homes and families that have benefitted from our work – if you’d like to know more, get in touch.

This article is sponsored by Warmworks. 

www.warmworks.co.uk