Clare Mitchell of Community Action for Energy (CAfE) describes how help is on hand for older people to keep you warm this winter - and how YOU could make a difference in your local community

In a cold winter, more than 46,000 people in the UK can die from cold and damp-related illnesses, according to recent Government figures.

Many of those who die each year are older people, vulnerable householders who struggle to pay their fuel bills, often living in cold, damp homes. In fact Britain is one of the few northern European nations that still sees an above average increase in winter deaths.

The National Energy Association estimate, that for every 1°c below average drop in temperature in winter there will be an associated increase in winter deaths. Improving energy efficiency is one part of the solution to help Britain’s most vulnerable householders.

Now a new national project Community Action for Energy (CAfE), is helping to do just that, by supporting grassroots initiatives to beat the cold.

The Government estimates that 1.4 million householders live in so-called “fuel poverty”, where a household needs to spend more than 10% of their income on heating their home. CAfE supports a network of community groups where ordinary people are using innovative ideas to reduce fuel poverty and help people create warm and comfortable homes.

One of these is ‘The Older Persons Energy Network’ (OPEN), based in Bristol:  a network of volunteers who go out into the community to give people advice on how to keep homes warm and fuel bills down. The OPEN volunteers have all received training on energy efficiency and have up-to-date details of the latest grants and funding available for energy efficiency measures.

Simply fitting insulation and using energy efficient appliances in your home can save an average of £200 a year on fuel bills. OPEN gives people the advice and support to make these savings. Although a saving like this may not seem significant to many, for a pensioner on an incomes as low as £5,500 it makes a difference.

Another project in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the Peer Group Advisors Scheme, trains volunteers of 55-plus to visit local people to provide energy efficiency advice in the home. The volunteers acquire a City & Guilds qualification in energy awareness and keep updated on new developments and grants through contact with the energy efficiency officer at their local council.
CAfE shares these good ideas and provides training in energy efficiency and support to people who are interested in volunteering and getting projects up and running themselves. The project will even pay for one community group to visit another project to share ideas and experience.

Part of the challenge is to make people aware of the grants available for energy efficiency measures. An innovative scheme in Harrogate used bingo to get the energy efficiency message across to local people and give them details of help they could get to insulate and improve the energy efficiency of their home. Each bingo ball carried a rhyming energy efficiency message – “66” – “radiator foils are easy to fix”, “54” – “a low-energy light bulb can save you more”. Over 1000 people have played the game and many took up energy efficiency grants as a result.

CAfE has over 1,500 members who are interested in energy-saving projects. The project provides a variety of services: find out about financing a project from the funding database, look up other projects from across the UK, read through case studies or use the helpline.

CAfE aims to support communities who are taking action to tackle fuel poverty in Britain and to bring recognition to their work in helping to give all householders a warm home this winter.

To find out more, either on how to take advantage of assistance to make your home warmer, or to see whether you could play an active part in keeping your local community warm, please contact CAfE on 08701 261 444, visit www.est.co.uk/cafe or email CAfE@cse.org.uk