The Centre for Sustainable Energy’s (CSE) Home Visit Advanced project (HVA) supported households at most risk from cold homes and high energy bills across Somerset, West of England, Wiltshire and Swindon. Through enhanced face-to-face energy advice, we helped 721 people to cut their bills and make their homes warmer and healthier.

CSE’s dedicated advisors didn’t just visit homes; they brought warmth, knowledge, and lasting change. By targeting the root causes of cold homes and high bills, they were able to offer tailored solutions and make a real difference to people’s lives.

The people we supported through this project now have better knowledge, tools, and resources to manage their energy needs, leading to long-term changes and improvements to their living situations. Hear their experiences.

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Why are home visits so beneficial?

By visiting someone in their own home, advisors can better assess their specific needs. And research suggests that more significant changes, including energy savings, are made when advice and solutions are given together. This influenced our approach:

• Home assessment. Evaluating a person’s living conditions, energy usage, and energy-saving opportunities to give tailored recommendations. Advisors also looked at issues in the home such as damp, mould, and condensation.
• Behavioural assessment. People in vulnerable circumstances may have unique energy consumption patterns and behaviours, for example not being able to use their heating controls properly. Advisors observed behaviours and suggested practical strategies to reduce energy usage and costs.
• Home modifications. Advisors installed measures and offered guidance on available funding programmes to make homes safer and more comfortable.
• Trust and rapport. People in vulnerable circumstances may prefer receiving advice and assistance from a trusted energy advisor visiting their home. This personal touch, when connected with behavioural change techniques, can make advice more likely to be acted upon.
• Tailored advice. Specific to household needs, circumstances, and vulnerabilities.

Every person supported received a personalised Energy Management Plan based on the assessments, including advice on using energy, heating efficiency and how to save money in the long-term. We were also able to install some small energy-saving measures such as draughtproofing, secondary glazing, and reflective radiator panels. This gave people the best possible chance – both the knowledge and tools – to transform how they used energy at home.

Learnings from the project

Overall, the feedback from the people we supported was very positive. Many felt that the advice they received was beneficial, and they were impressed by the range of topics covered. In-person advice was particularly valuable for demonstrating how heating controls worked, assessing damp and mould and ventilation issues and ensuring people understood the advice they received. Many felt more confident in knowing where to find further support and how to tackle future energy-related problems.

Interested in all of our findings? Read the full report.

This project also highlighted some limitations. Many people reported financial strain or medical issues as a barrier to being able to solve some of their energy issues. Although the advice they received was helpful, they found implementing changes difficult in practice. While our advisors were able to help as far as possible, this highlighted the need for comprehensive support that goes beyond energy advice, such as wider availability of grants and funding.