How we can help

We give free, impartial, energy saving advice to people in Bristol, Dorset, Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, so they can stay warm and reduce their energy bills.

We deliver our advice by phone, through arranging home visits and at events.

Telephone advice

Our freephone advice line is open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm and is staffed by a team of friendly and impartial energy advisors, City & Guilds qualified in both energy awareness and domestic renewable energy.

We can give advice on a wide range of energy-related topics, from bill or debt problems to suitable insulation and heating, to solar panels. If appropriate, we can arrange a home visit or refer you on to another agency to help further with your particular issue.

Before you ring us, please note that we can only give free home energy advice to those living in our area (broadly Bristol, Bath, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire) or who are customers or members of organisations with whom we have a contractual arrangement.

• If you are in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and county of Somerset: call 0800 082 2234
• Bath and North East Somerset: call 0800 038 5680
• Dorset: call 0300 003 7023
• Wiltshire: call 0300 003 4575
• Customers of Ovo Energy: call 0800 408 6601 

If you are calling outside office hours, or if all of our lines are busy, please leave a voicemail and we'll call you back within two working days.

You can also email us at home.energy@cse.org.uk or fill out our contact form (and we'll give you a call back).

If you don't live in the area we cover, but you need some help with energy issues contact your local council or the energy saving advice service on 0300 123 1234 (UK) or 0808 808 2282 (Scotland).

Advice in your home

If you struggle with a cold home, it’s sometimes best if we come round and have a look. One of our energy advisors can assess your needs, see what energy saving improvements might be possible, and explain how you might get funding. They'll also help you with any energy bill problems.

Home visits are free, but whether we can visit you depends on your personal circumstances. If English isn’t your first language, we may be able to provide a translation service. The short video below shows you a bit more about what happens on a home visit.

New for 2017: Our energy advisors are now able to install draught-proofing for windows and doors, LED lightbulbs and smart thermostats. To find out if you’re eligible get in touch today.

Drop-in advice surgeries & events

We also like to get out and about, and talk to people face-to-face.

Sometimes this is at what we call 'advice surgeries' where our advisors have been invited to community centres, flu-jab clinics, sports centres, workplaces etc, and can meet people and talk through issues they have with their energy supplier, fuel debt, and managing repayments. We can also answer questions about why a home might be cold or damp, and ways to spend less on energy bills. 

We can also be found at more general events like county shows and festivals. These tend to be busier, and we may not have time to give advice to individuals, but we can always take your details and get back to you. Come and see us, we're a friendly bunch! 

To find out where we'll be over the next few weeks, see our Facebook events page.

Here's where we've been over the past few months:

​31 May | Energy Advice Stand, Bath
​24 May | Army Transition Life Skills Fair, Dorset
17 May | Home Energy Team at 50+ Information Day, Dorset
26 April | Energy Advice Surgery, Weston-Super-Mare 
22 April | Home Energy Team at St Georges Celebration, Bristol
11 April | Energy Advice Surgery, Weston-Super-Mare 
6 April | Home Energy Team at the Take Five ​coffee morning, Banwell
30 March | Energy drop-in at Weston-Super-Mare Job Centre  
23 March | Energy drop-in at Weston-Super-Mare Job Centre   ​
23 March | Home Energy Team at the NHS Sustainability Fair, Bristol
​16 March | Energy drop-in at Weston-Super-Mare Job Centre   ​
14 March | Home Energy Team at Windmill Hill City Farm
​9 March | Energy drop-in at Weston-Super-Mare Job Centre ​
22 ​February | Energy Advice Surgery at St Peters Church
​22 ​February | Energy drop-in at Weston-Super-Mare Job Centre 
​16 ​February | Winter Blues Advice Surgery, Weston-Super-Mare
15 ​February | Energy drop-in at Weston-Super-Mare Job Centre 
8 ​February | Energy drop-in at Weston-Super-Mare Job Centre
​4 February | Energy Advice Surgery, Bristol
31 January | Energy Advice Surgery, Clevedon
25 January | Energy Advice Surgery, Yeovil
19 January | Winter Blues Advice Surgery, Weston-Super-Mare
16 January | Blue Monday Advice Surgery, Bristol
13 January | Energy Advice Surgery, Clevedon
11 January | Energy Advice Surgery, Bristol

And here some pictures of previous events we've attended: