Home Energy Efficiency
Home energy use accounts for 15% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions (more than all the emissions from agriculture in the UK), and 28.8% of the emissions in Three Rivers.
Help is available to residents of Three Rivers through the Home Energy Support Service (0800 107 0044), where you can access Home Energy Efficiency Grants.
More than two-thirds of properties in Thre Rivers are energy inefficient, with EPC ratings below a C. These homes will be harder to keep warm, have higher energy bills, and pump more CO2 into the atmosphere compared with their more efficient neighbours.
Improving your home’s energy efficiency through insulation and renewable energy technologies can deliver a variety of benefits to you and help our planet too.
Improving the energy efficiency of your home can:
- Significantly reduce heat loss
- Reduce your energy bills
- Keep you warm in winter, and cool in summer
- Lower your carbon footprint
- Improve your property’s EPC rating, making it more attractive to buyers
- Improve the comfort of your home and prevent damp
There are many things you can do to stay warm at home and lower your energy bills:
- Insulating your roof, floor and walls
- Draught-proofing windows and doors
- Upgrading your heating system to an energy efficient boiler or a heat pump (check if a heat pump is suitable for your home here)
- Installing double or triple glazing
- Using renewable sources of energy, such as solar power
- Check your EPC or have one carried out to get personalised recommendations.
- Download our new HEAT app on your app store to calculate what you can save and how you can reduce use with little/no cost.
- Warm spaces are currently open, with many running activities, where you can warm up without putting the heating on at home.
Advice and Information on Energy Efficiency:
Three Rivers Home Energy Support Service provided by the National Energy Foundation’s Better Housing Better Health programme, is a free helpline open to all Three Rivers residents.
The service offers:
- Help finding and applying to the latest Council schemes and grants for energy efficiency upgrades
- Independent, expert advice on energy saving
- Help finding and switching to the best value energy suppliers and tariffs
- Support discovering additional income through eligible benefits and discounts
For free, impartial support and advice on energy saving, energy bills, and energy efficiency improvements:
Call: 0800 107 0044
Email: bhbh@nef.org.uk
The Energy Saving Trust is an independent organisation providing impartial advice and tips on saving energy in your home.
Simple Energy Advice is a government-endorsed website that provides advice on how to save energy and reduce your energy bills.
You can also contact the Citizens Advice Bureau in Three Rivers for free, independent and confidential advice:
- South Oxhey – Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm 0208 515 8321
- Rickmansworth – Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm 01923 293 136
- Abbots Langley – Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm 01923 271 707
- Hertfordshire (county wide) Advice Line: Monday - Friday 10am - 4pm 0800 144 8848
Financial Support to Improve Your Home:
For information on the grants and funding available for energy efficiency improvements in Three Rivers, please visit Home Energy Efficiency Grants (threerivers.gov.uk)
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs):
Energy Performance Certificates are needed whenever a domestic or commercial property is built, sold, or rented. An EPC contains information about a property’s energy use and typical energy costs and gives the property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). The EPC is valid for 10 years and details recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money.
To view your property’s EPC visit: Find an energy certificate – GOV.UK.
If your property doesn’t have an EPC, you can find out how to get one here: Getting a new energy certificate – GOV.UK.
Planning Permission for Energy Efficiency Improvements:
In some cases, energy-saving improvements may require planning permission, particularly in Conservation Areas or Listed buildings. If you are planning to install energy efficiency measures that alter the exterior appearance of your property, such as external wall insulation, solar panels, or double glazing, it is best to check they are “permitted development” (meaning they do not require planning permission) with the Three Rivers planning department.
Guidance Note on External Wall Insulation
Guidance on Permitted Developments
You can view Interactive Guides to ascertain whether planning permission would be required for particular works.
How to Find a Qualified Installer:
When finding an installer for insulation measures, ensure they are Trustmark accredited and a member of the National Insulation Association (NIA), the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA) or the British Board of Agrément (BBA). For solid wall insulation, check that they are members of the Insulated Render and Cladding Association. For sprayed or injected polyurethane foam installations, choose a member of the British Urethane Foam Contractors Association.
When finding an installer for renewable energy technologies, ensure they (and their product) are Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified, and confirm they have Trustmark accreditation.
For any type of insulation or renewable energy, always check the installer’s experience, customer reviews, and guarantees, consumer protections and maintenance services.
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for Landlords:
Since 1 April 2020, landlords of domestic privately rented properties can no longer let or continue to let properties covered by the MEES Regulations if they have an EPC rating below E, unless they have a valid exemption in place.
This means F and G rated properties cannot be rented in most circumstances.
Guidance for landlords is available from Government and provides full details on the requirements, penalties of up to £5,000 and registering an exemption. To find out if a property is exempt you can search the register.
Home Energy Conservation Act 1995:
The Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 (‘HECA’) requires all local authorities in England to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and submit reports to the Secretary of State demonstrating what energy conservation measures they have adopted to improve the energy efficiency of residential accommodation within the local authority area. This covers measures to improve properties in the owner-occupier, private rented sector, and social rented sector.
Three Rivers District Council HECA 2021 public report..