Helping fight fuel poverty
I’ve recently joined the fight against fuel poverty. Millions of households are struggling to keep their home warm, damp and mould-free with rising fuel costs.
To tackle these problems and fight fuel poverty National Energy Action (NEA) run a three-day course leading to the NEA/City & Guilds 6281-01 Level 3 Award in Energy Awareness.
I’ve recently completed the course and thankfully passed.
The aim of the course is to be able to advise people on how to use heating controls effectively, understand fuel usage and to keep their home warmer.
I’m now happy to say I’m confident I can do this.
After completing this course I understand where heat loss occurs in different properties, measures to tackle this and how to keep the heat in as well as what fuel poverty is.
This knowledge is fantastic and I’m already passing it on through work and to friends and family to help them too.
I’ve lived in a very cold, draughty student house which suffered with dampness, condensation and manky mould.
If only I’d known how to keep the house warm, cut down condensation and get rid of the dampness it would’ve made my final year at uni a lot easier.
When I lived in lovely Lincolnshire I struggled to heat my flat in the city centre because I didn’t understand the controls on the electric storage heaters. But now I know what the input and output controls do.
Every time I’ve moved house I’ve had to get to grips with a different type of meter for my gas and electricity and it isn’t always easy to read them. I now know how to identify different meters and how to take accurate readings.
Being able to provide accurate meter readings to your supplier puts an end to estimated bills which can cause havoc for people – especially during the colder months when you’re using more fuel to keep warm.
The course is intense because there’s a lot to learn but it’s all really relevant and useful.
I’m keeping the accompanying Energy Advice in the Home tenth edition booklet close by for future reference, as it’s a fantastic resource.
Energy Advice in the Home booklet which accompanies the course.
Although I’m not a front-line adviser the knowledge I’ve gained is useful not only for work but in a personal capacity too.
I’d absolutely recommend this course to anyone who is working with clients who struggle with their fuel bills, keeping warm and the variety of issues that come with living in a cold, damp and mouldy home.
Once you’ve completed the course you’ll be armed with the knowledge to be able to make a difference to people living in fuel poverty.
The Macmillan Energy Advice Team also completed the course which I’ve discussed in a previous blog.
Other related posts:
Here’s 10 tips to keep your home cool in summer
If you’re worried about your energy bills I’ve got a post packed full of useful information.
Here’s 10 tips to tackle condensation in your home
Here’s 10 tips to stay warm at home this winter
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That sounds very useful. There are so many out there that would find this useful.
Thanks Simon. I’ll be sharing some pearls of wisdom from the course in future blog posts. 😊
I’m sure you will. Good stuff! ☺️
Sounds interesting! I could probably do with completing this course!
I learnt a lot! I’ll be sharing some pearls of wisdom in future blog posts 😊
Excellent x
Me and my team are also working on something similar to this. In most part of the world, energy and electricity are highly needed and we can always depend on the government to provide dem all.
Ways to save energy use will make a difference. Good luck 😊
Wow…this looks very useful! (I live in a colander!!!). Great post, thanks.
Thanks Clare. I will post some nuggets of learning which I will share in future posts which people hopefully find useful 😊
Brilliant 🙂
Waow 😮
Amazing Sound 🙂
You are doing an excellent job by spreading awareness
Thank you 😊
Thanks for sharing, it nice of you to take it upon your self to shared what you learned. Will send this link to my mother
Thank you 😊
Love this post, and the layout of your entire blog!
Thank you so much 😊
This sounds like such a great course! I wish they had something like this where I live. Even with newer houses (ours was built in 1985) there is so much heat loss when things turn colder, and we struggle to make the upgrades that will help with this – we’ve done the easy things already but are now on to the more expensive ones like new windows. And for people who rent instead of owning, you’re at the mercy of your landlord to make these upgrades – yeah, right!
Thanks lovely. The trainers travel all over the UK to do the course but it’s aimed at frontline workers really. I will share some of what I’ve learned that will hopefully help others in future blog posts.
This is interesting and insightful. Definitely gives me something to think about!
Thank you 😊
Sounds like a course most home owners need, definitely something to think about
Thanks for reading ☺️
Good to hear your experience with the course. Hopefully more will take it and share their knowledge.
Hopefully ☺️
When I lived in Ireland for a year, I found it incredibly confusing to have a metre right there, And also that people may not have heat for a variety of reasons! Because where I live it routinely gets to -45°C, you MUST have your heat running properly, no ifs, ands, or buts about it! The govt also can’t cut it off, which is an important “safety feature”. Is geothermal heating a thing there?
People can self-disconnect here which is a really bad thing. We are starting to take up geothermal but it isn’t widespread by any means. A lot of people really struggle to keep warm.
What is the typical low temp there in the winter?
Depends where abouts in the UK you are. Not as cold as a lot of countries to be fair.
Is a wood or peat fire a possible alternative? Or not enough heat?
In some areas yes but in cities it isn’t. There’s restrictions on built up areas
Wow, I’ve never heard of a course like this but it really does seem like it could be useful for everyone! Thanks for sharing Rachael!
Thanks Sadie 😍
This is so awesome! And such an inspiration. Just goes to show that you can conquer anything.
I think so too thank you! X
Sounds super interesting and so good for us and the planet! Can’t wait to hear some wisdoms!
Thank you 😊
Both commendable and important. We have geothermal heating and the reason we did it was due to what I have been reading about the future of fossil fuels.
How do you find the geothermal heating?
Excellent. House is always toasty and people really notice it. You get used to no radiators very quickly too. The electricity bill encompasses it so only one bill and it is definitely cheaper than oil etc too. It all depends on a heat pump staying in action though.
Definitely a useful course!!
I’ve learnt loads. I’ll be sharing some tips in future blog posts x
I look forward to learning from you!
The entire planet is reeling under energy challenges. Apparently where I live in Adelaide we now have the most expensive electricity in the world. I was a bit shocked when a colleague- I work in a comfortable job writing and managing curriculum- told me how his family had to enter into an instalment plan to pay their power bill.
Well done to you on taking this action. As always finding smarter ways to live is a key, but not the only one here.
Thanks.
Your colleague isn’t in the minority sadly. A lot of people are self-disconnecting or simply going without using electricity or gas. It’s scary and really dangerous. X
This is such a good idea. I didn’t know courses like this existed. Due to my pain I’d struggle to do a face-to-face course but maybe they do an online version. I shall look in to it. Thanks for sharing about it. And congratulations on passing ⭐️ Xx
They are doing an e-learning version of this course next year. There’s other online courses too. 😊
Good for you! A little education is always helpful, and it’s nice that you are now armed with some knowledge that will help you and others!
Thank you. I’ll be sharing some of it in future posts x
Thanks, Rachel I learnt something new from reading your post. Many countries could be doing this as many homes are not in the healthy zone of 18 degs average.
That’s great to hear. I know it’s really bad for people’s health too ☹️
Could have something to do with the increase in asthma? Though times were much harder for our grandparents. So not sure, so many different variables to work out the main cause.
Some amazing points here. And I speak out of envy as I am often stunned by the differences in home heating/cooling efficiency here in Romania compared to the states.
It can be tough to get to grips with a new heating system whenever you move! It’s great that you’re a bit of an expert now! You’ll be able to help so many people. 😀
Definitely not an expert but hopefully I’ll be able to help some people ☺️
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