Energy Saving Week 2023

Help and support for everyone

With increased energy costs, check that you are on the correct tariff or the cheapest method of payment. For more information, please check the Consumer Council NI website. 

If you are struggling to pay your gas or electricity bill, or you are in debt, contact your supplier in the first instance for help and advice. Ensure to take regular meter readings and forward these to your supplier to ensure your bills are accurate.

New Affordable Warmth Scheme application process

The Affordable Warmth Scheme is based on an application process from eligible households – either owner occupier or privately renting – to improve energy efficiency in their home.

This scheme is delivered by the Housing Executive. Potential applicants from all NI Council areas who meet the gross total household income of under £23,000 per annum and require energy measures in their home such as loft and cavity wall insulation, and boiler replacement can contact the NI Energy Advice Service to seek help and guidance.

Energy officers will triage customers to determine if they are eligible for Affordable Warmth Scheme support. To be eligible for some energy saving measures, additional criteria to the income threshold are applicable.

Advice

If you would like to get tailored independent free energy advice based on your own situation you can contact the NI Energy Advice Service on 0800 111 4455, between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Alternatively you can complete the online Get in touch link or email your query to NIEnergyAdvice@nihe.gov.uk and an energy advisor from the NI Energy Advice Service will get in touch with you.

If you live in an oil-heated home

• The majority of homes have some loft insulation, but a lot don’t have the recommended 270mm depth.
• Topping up your loft insulation from 120mm to 270mm could save around £25 and 80kg of carbon dioxide a year.
• If you have no loft insulation, installing 270mm of new insulation could save up to £285 and 840kg of carbon dioxide a year.
• Cavity wall insulation could save up to £300 and 880kg of carbon dioxide a year.
• If you never use your fire, to prevent draughts, insulating your chimney will make your home feel warmer.
• A chimney draught excluder can save around £70 on an oil-heated home and 210kg of carbon dioxide a year.
• Draught-proofing windows and doors can save around £50 and 145kg of carbon dioxide a year.

If you live in a gas-heated home

• The majority of homes have some loft insulation, but a lot don’t have the recommended 270mm depth.
• Topping up your loft insulation from 120mm to 270mm could save around £40 and 55kg of carbon dioxide a year.
• If you have no loft insulation, installing 270mm of new insulation could save up to £410 and 620kg of carbon dioxide a year.
• Cavity wall insulation could save up to £430 and 650kg of carbon dioxide a year.
• If you never use your fire, to prevent draughts, insulating your chimney will make your home feel warmer.
• A chimney draught excluder can save around £100 and 155kg of carbon dioxide a year.
• Draught-proofing windows and doors can save around £70 and 105kg of carbon dioxide a year.

LEDs

• By replacing all the remaining standard incandescent and halogen bulbs in your home with energy saving LEDs, the average household could save around £75 a year from your energy bills, and 50kg of carbon dioxide every year.

Switching it off

• Avoiding standby and turning appliances off when you’re not using them could save £70 and up to 45kg of carbon dioxide every year.
• Turning off your lights when you don’t need them could save you around £30 on your annual energy bills and avoid 19kg of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

Energy labels

• If you need to replace an appliance in your home, it’s now easier to choose the most efficient appliance or product for your needs, as the energy label rating scale has been improved.
• Labels now show a simplified A-G scale with ‘A’ being the most energy efficient product. Click for further information.
• Choosing an A-rated fridge-freezer rather than an F–rated one could save around £60 a year and 35kg of carbon dioxide every year.

If you live in an oil-heated home

• Turning your central heating thermostat down by 1 degree could save you £105 and 430kg of carbon dioxide every year.
• Some controls allow you to control temperatures and the times your heating turns on in different rooms, sometimes known as zonal controls. It could save you around £200 and 620kg of carbon dioxide every year.
• Installing reflective radiator panels in a house with uninsulated cavity walls or solid walls could save around £25 and up to 110kg of carbon every year.
• Installing and correctly using a full set of controls on your heating system so you are in full control of how you heat your home could save you around £135 a year and 425kg of carbon dioxide a year.

If you live in a gas-heated home

• Turning your central heating thermostat down by 1 degree could save you £175 and 305kg of carbon dioxide every year.
• Some controls allow you to control temperatures and the times your heating turns on in different rooms, sometimes known as zonal controls. It could save you around £295 and 450kg of carbon dioxide every year.
• Installing reflective radiator panels in a house with uninsulated cavity walls or solid walls could save up to around £45 and 80kg of carbon dioxide every year.
• Installing and correctly using a full set of controls on your heating system so you are in full control of how you heat your home could save you around £200 and 310kg of carbon dioxide a year.

If you live in an oil-heated home

• Setting your washing machine to wash at 30 degrees rather than higher temperatures will save around £18 a year on energy bills and around 11kg of carbon dioxide. You will also use around 57% less electricity than washing at higher temperatures.
• If you have an electric tumble dryer you can save on average £75 a year on your electric bill, and 50kg carbon dioxide by line drying clothes.
• Replacing an inefficient shower head with a water efficient one could save you £13 per person on your annual oil bill.
• Spending one minute less in the shower each day could save £8 per person annually on your oil bill.

If you live in a gas-heated home

• Setting your washing machine to wash at 30 degrees rather than higher temperatures will save around £18 a year on energy bills and around 11kg of carbon dioxide. You will also use around 57% less electricity than washing at higher temperatures.
• Replacing an inefficient shower head with a water efficient one could save you £20 per person on your annual gas bill.
• Spending one minute less in the shower each day could save £13 a year on your gas bill for each person in your home.
• If you have an electric shower spending one minute less showering can save you £15 annually for each person in your home.

• Schools challenge letter
• Worksheet for teachers
• Worksheet for parents, guardians and carers
• Results form

Entrants must be from a primary school with a Northern Ireland postal address. Entry is excluded to persons connected with this promotion and employees and those related to employees of the Energy Saving Trust, SSE Airtricity, Power NI and the Housing Executive.

Only entries submitted via the email address eswni@est.org.uk are eligible for the prize.

Two winners will be selected from the entrants received by the competition deadline at 11:59pm on Monday 22 January 2024.

Entrants can only win one prize and there can be only one winner per school. No alternative prizes will be available. The prizes are as follows:

The prizes involved are:

• First prize: A prize of £1,000 to be spent on a sustainability project/initiative to benefit the school. This will be awarded based on the highest amount of carbon saved throughout 5 days (pro rata according to the size of the school’s head count). This prize is sponsored by Power NI.
• Second prize: W5 Tickets for a primary school class will be awarded (including transport) based on the second highest amount of carbon saved (pro rata according to the size of the school’s head count). This prize is sponsored by SSE Airtricity.

No expenses incurred in connection with the competition will be paid other than as set out in these terms and conditions.

Energy Saving Trust reserves the right to substitute a prize or part thereof with a prize of equal or higher value in the event of unforeseen circumstances and/or withdraw or amend the promotion at any time without prior notice.

The winner will be selected by Energy Saving Trust after the amount of carbon saved by each school throughout 5 days (pro rata according to the size of the school’s head count) has been calculated.

Should the prize winner be unable to accept the prize or not respond to Energy Saving Trust within five days of the notification date, Energy Saving Trust has the right to draw an alternative winner.

The prize must be accepted as offered, is non-transferable and cannot be refunded or exchanged.

By entering this promotion, you agree, if you win, to participate in related and reasonable publicity at the request of the Promoter (including promotional photographs and interviews) without further recompense.

Energy Saving Trust’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into in respect of all matters to do with this promotion.

Energy Saving Trust will not be responsible for the non-inclusion of entries or any claims as a result of being lost, late, illegible, incomplete, invalid, or because of technical failures or otherwise, including such failure which is within the control of the Energy Saving Trust or its agencies.

Entry into the competition constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions.

Failure to comply with these terms and conditions will automatically render a prize draw entry void.

The school name and location of the winners will be available for one month after the competition closing date and will be available online at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

By entering the prize draw, entrants are sending their personal information to Energy Saving Trust who will at all times process an entrant’s personal data in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 2018. For more information, please see our privacy policy.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Energy Saving Trust accepts no liability whatsoever in connection with this promotion.

To the extent permitted by law, the promoter and third parties connected to the promoter hereby expressly exclude:

• All conditions, warranties and other terms which might otherwise be implied by statute, common law or the law of equity.
• Any liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage incurred by any entrant or winner in connection with any competition or any entry.