Fuel poverty
Do you spend more than 10% of your income on providing adequate heating to maintain health and comfort?
If so, you are not alone, there are almost 100,000 households in fuel poverty in Devon alone, with the vast majority being the elderly and households with children; Energy Action Devon is striving to reduce these numbers.
There are 3 main causes:
• Heating costs relative to income - an issue that is becoming increasingly relevant due to recent fuel price rises.
• The home - poorly insulated and heated homes can cost more than average to maintain temperatures needed for health and comfort, this can lead to poor health and increased risk of winter deaths in vulnerable groups. The recommended temperature for the main living room is 21°C and 18° in other occupied rooms. It is important to keep homes warm, if the temperatures drop below 16°C any respiratory problems can worsen and below 9°C there can be increased risk of hypothermia and can consequently increase winter mortality.
• Behaviour and awareness - there are many low cost and no cost actions that can be taken to improve and therefore reduce fuel bills
Projects managed by Energy Action Devon such as are working towards targeting those most at risk of falling into fuel poverty. By working with local authorities, housing associations, community groups and partner organisations Energy Action Devon endeavour to reduce the numbers of people in fuel poverty in Devon.