Keighley family enjoying the benefits of free insulation scheme

The McHale family is enjoying the benefits of extra insulation in their home and much-needed savings on their energy bills, thanks to a free attic room insulation scheme.

Bradford Council is working in partnership with Eclipse Energy and Better Homes Yorkshire to deliver a second round of the Local Area Delivery (LAD) of the Government’s Green Homes Grant – funding from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The scheme, which has initially been rolled out in Keighley, involves fully insulating attic room space, plastering and redecorating the area, installing ventilation to windows for air flow and, if needed, providing mechanical insulation to bathrooms, such as an extractor fan.

At the McHales’ 1900s stone-built terraced home, 62.5mm of insulation and plasterboard (combined) were added internally to the walls of two attic bedrooms and a staircase.

Since the work was completed, the family has been able to turn their thermostat down by two degrees, which in time will save money on their energy bills, as well as making the home feel noticeably warmer. Their daughter is also enjoying her much warmer attic bedroom.

The work was carried out after the family was approached by a canvasser from Eclipse Energy.

Sue McHale said: “You’re always a bit sceptical when someone knocks on your door offering you something for free, but the team was really reassuring and explained the benefits. Just a few straightforward checks were made to make sure we were eligible.

“Making energy improvements to our home was something we’d been considering anyway and we’d actually never considered getting our attic room insulated but now it makes perfect sense. With energy bills rising we are reassured we have taken some simple steps to help keep costs as low as possible.

“The work was carried out quickly, in under two weeks, and the team was able to work around our family’s routine – we have two children with additional needs so it was important to us that any disruption was kept to a minimum.”

“This has now spurred us on to look at other energy improvements such as solar panels and I’d encourage anyone else in the area to take advantage of the free insulation scheme – there really is no catch!”

Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Portfolio Holder for Healthy People and Places, said: “It’s great to hear from residents who have benefited from this scheme and to know that it’s making such a significant difference to the warmth of their homes. It proves that a few simple measures can reduce a household’s energy consumption and reduce their bills.”

Steve Batty, Head of Sustainability at Better Homes Yorkshire, said: “We’re pleased that residents are now reaping the benefits of improving the energy efficiency of their homes. As bills rise and the climate emergency continues it is imperative that we do all we can to help families reduce the amount of energy needed to heat their homes and to reduce carbon emissions. We’d urge households in the area to act now and find out if their home is eligible as funding for this scheme is for a limited time only.”

Mark Bannister, Managing Director from Eclipse Energy, commented “It has been fantastic to work with the people of Bradford, helping them secure funding to improve their homes. Making older properties warm is an essential part of reducing our emissions, fighting rising bills, and tackling fuel poverty. I’d like to thank Bradford council for their proactive work in the community”.

So far, work on 73 properties has been completed in this current scheme. Around 120 households in total will have these measure in place by the end of March. Anyone interested in applying for the scheme can look at: www.betterhomesyorkshire.co.uk or call Eclipse Energy direct on 01422 414850, or email sales@eclipseenergy.co.uk

To qualify, households will need to meet application criteria, including having a total combined income of less than £30K. Work is also subject to structural surveys. To be eligible for insulation attic rooms must have a window and be accesses by a permanent staircase.

Attic room insulation can improve a property’s EPC rating (a measurement of energy efficiency in buildings with A being extremely energy efficient and G being not at all energy efficient) by up to two bands. The McHales’ home has gone from a Band D to a Band C rating. On average, the insulation measures can reduce a household’s annual energy bills and in a lifetime save 75.26 tonnes of carbon per property.