NEA FocusISSUE 9 SUMMER 2015

25 YEARS OF NEATRAINING SERVICES

SPONSORED BY

FUEL POVERTY MONITOR 2015 page 4

FUEL POVERTY: OUR VISION FOR THE FUTURENEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2015 page 3

CONTENTS

NEA Focus ISSUE 9, SUMMER 2015Published by NEA External Affairs Directorate

EditorHEATHER CRITCHLOWheather.critchlow@nea.org.uk

ProductionBRIAN HARTbrian.hart@nea.org.uk

Printed by

info@gti-direct.com

Contributions are welcome, please contact the editor.

(C) 2015 NEA

NEA is an independent charity, Registration No. 290511. Company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales 1853927.

Registered office: West One, Forth Banks, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3PAwww.nea.org.uk

NEW NEA STAFFWe’re pleased to announce that there have been a number of changes and new staff that have recently joined NEA. Please check our website for an up-to-date list of staff contact details www.nea.org.uk/About-us/organisation-chart. We hope that you get to meet the new members of our team soon!

CONGRATULATIONS HELEN!Helen Roach, NEA Cymru’s Development Officer, recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl called Magwen Ariadne. Both mum and baby are doing well and NEA wishes Helen and her family many congratulations!

CHESSHIRE LEHMANN FUND BURSARYThe Chesshire Lehmann Fund is offering to support the cost for two Masters or PhD students/researchers to attend NEA’s 2015 Conference (see page 3).

To be eligible for a free place you must be a Masters or PhD student. If you wish to apply please email CLF@nea.org.uk using the words ‘NEA Conference 2015’ in the subject line of your email. In no more than 500 words, please outline why you would find it useful to attend and how your research is linked to the themes of the conference. Please also include your contact details. The deadline for entries is Friday 25 July. The two successful students will be notified via email. The package includes a delegate place, one night’s accommodation and pre-booked public transport.

For further information please check www.chesshire-lehmann.co.uk/nea-annual-conference. The two winning students will be asked to submit a short report on the outcomes of attending the Conference and how they will use the experience to support their research.

THANK YOU GTi DirectNEA would like to thank-long standing BSG member GTi Direct for continuing to print NEA Focus in-kind for the charity. We are really grateful for your support!

4 Fuel Poverty Monitor 2015

5 Energy Efficiency Best Practice Awards

6 Fuel Banks’ heat or eat dilemma

7 Community Action Awards

8 Heat Heroes 2015 winners

14 Gas Safe Trust funding for NEA

research project

CIGA’s first annual report

15 Warm Homes, Healthy Homes

16 UKPN and fuel poor communities

19 Peaks & Plains ‘chop’ residents’ bills

Endo Enterprises wins H&V award

20 Big Energy Saving Network

Jenny Saunders, Chief Executive of NEA with Martin Clayton, Managing Director of GTi Direct

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The theme for this year’s conference is based on our vision for the future, for the 4.5 million households who live in the misery of fuel poverty across the UK. The conference will focus on six vision statements and expert panels of speakers will explore each of these in turn, drawing upon the experience of those attending the conference.

What does the future look like for the fuel poor? Our six vision statements:

1. A future where all fuel-poor households receive the assistance they need to improve the energy efficiency of their property

2. A future where everyone can afford to heat and eat

3. A future where there is no illness or premature death resulting from cold homes

4. A future where communities and individuals are empowered to take control of their energy generation and behaviour

5. A future where no household is disadvantaged because of their property type, tenure or location

6. A future where no household is disadvantaged because of how they pay for their energy and where all consumers can engage with the competitive energy market.

Confirmed speakers to date include:

• David Porter, Vice President, NEA • Senior representatives from the

Department of Energy and Climate Change

• Janine Freeman, Director UK Corporate Affairs, National Grid

• John Barnett, Commercial Director, Northern Powergrid

• Tom Wright, Chair of Fuel Poverty Advisory Group

• Philip Cullum, Consumer Partner, Ofgem

• Dr David Sloan – Co-Chair, NICE committee on preventing excess winter deaths

• Prof Angela Tod, Chair of Clinical Nursing Practice Research, University of Manchester

• Catherine Homer, Research Fellow, Sheffield Hallam University

• Pete Moorey, Head of Campaigns, Which?

• Adam Scorer, Executive Director of Consumer Futures

• Sir John Harman, Chair, CRESCo• And more to be announced.

As well as the main sessions there will be an exhibition of products and services that offer some of the solutions to tackling fuel poverty.

Discussion hubs will provide opportunity for more interactive discussions.

If you have any ideas for additional themes and speakers please email claire.henderson@nea.org.uk.

Who should attend?The NEA conference is the main UK conference solely focused on tackling fuel poverty. It provides a unique

opportunity to hear from experts, challenge their views and share best practice. All sectors involved in developing policies and programmes to deliver on fuel poverty targets should attend including representatives from local government and RSLs; central government; the energy industry; Green Deal installer organisations; health agencies; voluntary and not- for-profit agencies at a national and local level.

NEA’s conference is one of the best value-for-money events in the UK. Taking place over three days, as well as access to the full conference programme and exhibition, the delegate fee also includes a buffet and drinks reception on Monday evening; gala dinner on Tuesday evening; and lunch and refreshments at designated times on Tuesday and Wednesday.

For more information and to book your place go to www.nea.org.uk/sheffield2015 or email brian.hart@nea.org.uk. Early bird discounts are available until 30 June.

The NEA Conference is widely recognised as the largest fuel poverty and energy efficiency event in the UK. The 33rd annual conference and exhibition is sponsored by National Grid and Northern Powergrid, and will be held at Sheffield City Hall from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 September.

Guests were welcomed to the event by Lord Shipley, NEA’s Vice President and addressed by Derek Lickorish MBE, Chair of NEA who outlined the charity’s work and its key asks of the new Government.

Bev Keogh, SSE Power Distribution’s Director of Network Services also spoke about her company’s mission

to identify and support vulnerable customers.

NEA was delighted that the new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the Rt Hon Amber Rudd was able to attend the reception and speak about her commitment to help vulnerable energy consumers.The event was very timely, enabling

NEA to brief new politicians on the need to adequately fund an ambitious energy efficiency programme to end the suffering caused by fuel poverty. NEA was able to highlight some of the recommendations from our UK Fuel Poverty Monitor which was produced in conjunction with Energy Action Scotland (EAS) with the support of Citizen’s Advice and Citizen’s Advice Scotland.

NEA WELCOMES MEMBERS TO THE HOUSE OF LORDSNEA held its annual House of Lords reception on 1 June, bringing together 160 stakeholders and members of both Houses of Parliament.

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The Fuel Poverty Monitor is an annual investigation by NEA and EAS of fuel poverty in the UK and its four nations and the policies in place to tackle it. This year’s Fuel Poverty Monitor explores specifically how the differing approaches and varying levels of service across the UK are leading to significant differences in the experience of fuel poverty for vulnerable and low-income consumers both between nations and across the UK. This is demonstrated in the report with some illustrative examples or ‘pen portraits’ of different consumers’ experiences

of accessing fuel poverty support and energy efficiency interventions. By comparing the impact of policies ‘on the ground’ the report seeks to highlight the relative success of efforts to integrate fuel poverty policies with other key strategies within the nations.

The report highlights widespread recognition that significant energy efficiency interventions and bespoke energy advice can help increase warmth, comfort and make fuel bills affordable for vulnerable households. The Fuel Poverty Monitor is available to download from the NEA website at www.nea.org.uk/publications.

The reception also focussed on NEA’s training services. NEA’s most popular course, the City & Guilds-accredited Level 3 Award in Energy Awareness 6281-01, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Over 25,000 delegates have completed this course since its inception in 1990 and some were at the reception to receive their certificates. Also in attendance was NEA’s Assistant Training and Assessment Manager Colin Dunn who was part of the first cohort of trainees to receive the qualification 25 years ago.

NEA has previously received the prestigious Ashden Award for Training and Capacity Building, recognising excellence in training in energy awareness and energy efficiency advice, and our leading role in professionalising the energy advice sector. For more information please see www.nea.org.uk/training.

The Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP, the new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change

£25,000 for energy saving projects Eight organisations are celebrating after winning up to £5,000 each for their projects which are working to improve energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions in one of eight specific localities across England and Wales.

The organisations won a total of £25,000 in the Energy Efficiency Best Practice Awards, run by National Energy Action and British Gas.

The awards complement a wider programme of work, the Community Action Partnership, a national programme delivered by British Gas and NEA in partnership with councils across the UK that will help to bring affordable energy and improve the lives and prosperity of residents.

The winners are:• Care & Repair, Cardiff & the Vale of

Glamorgan• South Tyneside Homes• Sunderland City Council• Salix Homes• emh Homes• Action in Caerau and Ely• Age Cymru• Carbon Co-op

For further information about the winning organisations and their projects please go to www.nea.org.uk/campaigns-events/energy-efficiency-best-practice-awards.

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NEA is working in partnership with npower, The Trussell Trust and Durham Christian Partnership to deliver the nation’s first fuel bank as part of an ongoing pilot.

The innovative scheme, which began in April 2015, is designed to support households most in need by supplying them with a prepayment meter voucher, equivalent to approximately 14 days dual-fuel energy use, alongside emergency food aid when they visit a food bank.

For the majority of households that use food banks they are doing so because of a crisis situation. For example, there has been a delay or problem with a benefits payment that has thrown the household finances into chaos. A household struggling to afford the basics, such as food, is also very likely to be struggling with other areas of their household budget, such as energy. We know many vulnerable and low-income households will face difficult and challenging decisions about whether to heat or eat. It is a scandal that in the UK today families are required to make the choice between heating and powering their home or to feed themselves and their families.

Operating from within existing food banks in Durham, Kingston upon Thames and Gloucester, the Fuel Bank scheme is targeted at households in crisis that use pre-payment meters; regardless of who their energy supplier is. The voucher can then be used to top-up their gas and/or electricity meters enabling households which have run out of energy to get the power back on within a few hours and keep the lights and heating on for up to two weeks, or stopping households that might be at risk of using their emergency credit or self-disconnection from doing so. Households will be able to access up to three credit fuel vouchers initially and food bank staff will be able to give more than three vouchers to those in exceptional circumstances if they deem

it necessary.

Alongside the fuel voucher, households will also receive an information booklet designed to help them access longer-term forms of support which they may not be aware of, for example, the Priority Services Register and Warm Home Discount; trusts and grants; and npower services, such as the Health through Warmth scheme. The booklet is also packed full of helpful tips and advice about how to save and manage energy in the home and useful contact details for energy and welfare-related sources of advice and services.

The initial pilot phase is scheduled to run for three months until the end of July and NEA will be evaluating the project with both service users and providers to determine what the outcomes for vulnerable households have been. For example, has the emergency fuel voucher helped to relieve a crisis situation? Has it helped people to get back on their feet after a crisis by opening up some flexibility in the household budget? Or have households been able to repay a fuel debt or reduce the incidence of self-disconnection? The evaluation will also capture any operational and delivery lessons that can be drawn upon during any future roll-out; helping npower with the ambition of expanding the Fuel Bank scheme.

FUEL BANKS TO HELP THOSE FACING ‘HEAT OR EAT’ DILEMMA

For further information please email luke.garrett@nea.org.uk

OUT AND ABOUT WITH THE COMMUNITY ACTION AWARDSNEA has been busy travelling the country as part of the Community Action Awards scheme which recognises best practice amongst those who are working to tackle fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency in their local communities. NEA runs the scheme in partnership with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and British Gas.

The winning projects involved a wide range of initiatives including volunteer training programmes, referral networks, education in schools, energy advice services and partnership working.

Celebration events took place in Worcester with Act on Energy; in Rutland with Change Agents; in Barking with Community Enterprise East London; in Lewisham with the London Borough of Lewisham; and in Tyne And Wear with Shiney Advice and Resource Project (ShARP).

Phase 4 of the awards is now open for entries and the deadline for applications is 2 October 2015. To apply or for further information visit www.nea.org.uk, email nina.dunlavy@nea.org.uk or call 0191 269 2935.

GREENBUILD EXPO 2015Launched in 2009, Greenbuild Expo is firmly established as the must-attend event for built environment professionals wanting to create sustainable projects.

The free, two-day conference and exhibition in Manchester offers expert advice on making buildings greener – from cutting water use to reducing energy consumption – with a huge variety of workshops and seminars to attend. They take a holistic approach to sustainability at Greenbuild Expo, with sessions looking at the social sustainability of construction and refurbishment projects, as well as the environmental sustainability.

And this year Greenbuild will once again be recognising projects that have raised the bar when it comes to energy saving and sustainability in the Buildings & Energy Efficiency Awards. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements and expertise in energy usage and the ways it contributes to an attractive, energy-efficient and sustainable built environment.

The closing date to enter the awards is 30 June, so do visit www.beefficiencyawards.co.uk for further information.

Greenbuild Expo will take place on the 10 and 11 November at Manchester Central. NEA will be exhibiting at this event.

To find out more visit www.greenbuildexpo.co.uk and follow @greenbuildexpo on Twitter.

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Louise Evans, Community Council for Somerset

Louise Evans worked at the Community Council for Somerset (CCS) until recently when she moved to the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE). At CCS she worked on the Somerset Warmer Families project, which aims to reduce energy bills for families with young children in fuel poverty

across Somerset. Her work has included attending school assemblies to deliver presentations around energy use to children and parents, presenting at parent and child sessions at local children’s centres and providing advice to vulnerable households. The families she helped live in rural areas with high levels of fuel poverty and hard-to-treat homes. They are therefore at more risk of financial deprivation. Louise is dedicated to helping families make their daily household income stretch that little bit further and by choosing to educate the youngest in the community, it means we will all benefit in the future.

Dennis Reeves, Middlesbrough Environment City

The overall aim of Dennis’ role is to identify the more vulnerable residents of Middlesbrough who are in fuel poverty or are in danger of entering fuel poverty. He works closely with Middlesbrough’s health advocates who refer vulnerable householders identified through home visits. Dennis is often seen in the community giving advice on energy efficiency and is fully committed to his role. Dennis

has been a highly active member of the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s Big Energy Saving Network in 2014-15. He has trained 55 frontline workers to give advice and support to vulnerable energy consumers across Middlesbrough. This has included training MIND staff who support people with mental health issues; frontline workers from the Royal Voluntary Service in Middlesbrough who help older people maintain independence in their own homes; and frontline staff who run a Retired and Senior Volunteering Programme to people aged 50+.

HEAT HEROES 2015 AWARD WINNERSNEA’s Heat Heroes Awards, supported by ScottishPower, recognise individuals within communities in England and Wales who

have made a significant contribution to helping those struggling with the effects of fuel poverty. The following Heat Heroes have

been nominated to receive this award and will attend a celebration event in the summer.

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Phil Povey, Sefton Council

Phil Povey has worked for Sefton Council as an affordable warmth worker for over six years and in that time has personally assisted over 2,500 households in fuel poverty. Phil prides himself on the fact that there isn’t anyone in fuel poverty he hasn’t been able to help, whether it is energy efficiency advice, access to measures, reduction in fuel debt

or income maximisation. He is passionate about assisting residents out of fuel poverty and never gives up on a case. More and more often Phil is reaching the most fuel poor and hard-to-reach groups. In turn not only is he assisting them with fuel poverty issues, but he is also referring them to other support agencies such as welfare rights and occupational health, enabling residents to live independently and more comfortably in their own homes.

Aisha Sterling and Sylwia Kulaczkowska, Talking Money

Aisha and Sylwia are both energy advisors at Talking Money’s Energy Advice Project. Their role is to alleviate fuel poverty and set their clients on a path to sustainable and affordable energy usage via energy efficiency advice, income maximisation, charitable applications to clear arrears and holistic support and advice delivered via the phone and

in person. Aisha is a computer whizz who is studying for a degree in astrophysics in her spare time and she has played a key role in fine-tuning the project’s data management program to make it more user friendly. She is a walking fuel rights handbook which means she is quick to identify and challenge potentially legally unjustified behaviour from suppliers both for her own clients and others.

Sylwia volunteered at the energy advice project at Talking Money for one year before the project’s expansion allowed them to offer her a permanent post as and energy advisor. Sylwia is a native Polish speaker and this has been an invaluable asset to the project. Residents of Bristol’s sizeable Polish community are some of the most at risk of fuel poverty in the city. She has been able to effectively target this community which is otherwise poorly served for energy advice.

Gaynor Astley, Care & Repair Powys

Gaynor Astley has been a stalwart member of the Care & Repair in Powys team for 25 years and has made a significant contribution to helping older people struggling with the effects of fuel poverty. Care & Repair in Powys recognises that in Wales alone there are 140,000 pensioners in fuel poverty

and sadly nearly 2,000 excess winter deaths every year. As a caseworker since April 1990, Gaynor has visited and assisted thousands of older people in their homes in Powys, a rural and isolated area in mid Wales with below-average incomes and many housing issues. Along with adaptations and home maintenance advice (including heating systems, new boilers and window repairs), Gaynor will also make sure that her elderly clients are receiving their full benefit entitlement and can afford to adequately heat their home. Care & Repair in Powys estimate that Gaynor has personally helped over 2,000 older people in fuel poverty in her time and deserves recognition for her hard work.

Continued >>

Emma Adams, Consultant

Dedicated, compassionate, action-oriented! That describes Emma over the last 15 years working to eradicate fuel poverty and provide warm and affordable homes to low-income families. Emma began her career in 2000 on the government-funded Warm Front Team where she was responsible for stakeholder engagement and a referral

generation for low-income households across London. She then worked at London Warm Zone for six years and for the delivery providers for the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) RE: NEW home energy efficiency programme. Emma also led a successful bid for £450k from the Department of Health’s Warm Homes, Healthy People funding with seven West Sussex councils in 2011-12. The programme delivered energy advice, a package of energy/water saving devices, and larger CERT-funded measures to over 2,600 vulnerable homes.

Emma works freelance as well as being a specialist consultant with Avalon Sustainable Energy Solutions who deliver cavity wall insulation for tower blocks. She works closely with SHS on fuel poverty programmes and has been instrumental in designing a tailored home assessment to prove real fuel poverty in line with the new Government definition.

Tony Cooke, South Norfolk Council

As South Norfolk Council’s Housing Access and Standards Manager, Tony manages and develops a team to help residents find a home, make sure it’s appropriate to their

needs and maintain it ensuring it is safe and warm. Tony works across numerous agencies and partners to ensure that affordable warmth investments have positive impacts and are targeted in order to benefit their residents the most. His achievements include bidding for Green Deal funding which has brought £450,000 into the district to improve insulation for residents, encouraging behaviour change in energy reduction, helping the vulnerable achieve independent living, targeting excess winter deaths through energy schemes and making savings in the health sector.

Carol White, Gosport Borough Council

Carol has worked tirelessly for the people of Gosport for a significant number of years, improving their heating and accessing help from other organisations, to help lift them out of fuel poverty and going the ‘extra mile’ to ensure that people of all ages and tenures have access to funding and schemes provided by the Government. Carol’s determination and tenacity in cutting through ‘red tape’ to find solutions has ensured that she and her team have been able to make a difference.

She worked on the ‘Help is on Hand – Warm & Well project, working closely with partner organisations to identify and safeguard vulnerable people living in fuel poverty. Other projects have included the Green Deal Communities Fund (GDCF) where Carol was instrumental in obtaining funding from the GDCF, providing External Wall Insulation (EWI) mainly to the Rowner estate in Gosport. To date 16 families have benefited from EWI to their homes with a further 200+ properties yet to be completed.

Carl Grant, South Liverpool Homes

Carl has worked tirelessly striving to help people in fuel debt and poverty. In the last 12 months alone Carl has visited 500 individual homes in the Speke and Garston areas of Liverpool delivering a service that started out as a project, then turned into an essential service after only the first three months. He was instrumental in the provision of a “poverty pot” to be implemented by his current employers.

This ensures that the more extreme cases can be treated immediately without the need for any external applications. This measure instigated by Carl has saved families from having to wait for the next benefit payment to top up electric and gas pre-payments, ensuring heat and cooking facilities, sometimes during freezing weather conditions. Carl is also trusted with food bank awards, sometimes delivering during his own time to ensure that families can provide food for their children. Carl truly is a “Heat Hero” and fully deserves recognition for the passion and drive he shows every day, and has done for the last five years.

Chris Benton, Dying to Keep Warm

Chris has spent many years seeking to improve conditions for vulnerable and less fortunate members of his community. After he retired in 2003, Chris joined Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service as a Community Fire Safety Manager, where he spent eight years developing and enhancing a new Home Fire Safety Strategy aimed at reducing fire risks for the elderly and vulnerable. In 2011 he became an integral member of a new charity called Dying to Keep Warm. Now at the age of 71 he continues to work hard with the charity to help reduce fuel poverty and increase safety in the home. Among his contributions, Chris spends his time advising vulnerable people, educating the professionals who care for them and most importantly, providing them with suitable emergency heating and gas safety solutions.

Jenny Cartwright, Centre for Sustainable Energy

Jenny has been working with CSE as a volunteer since December 2013 and giving up many hours of her time each week supporting their fuel poverty work. Jenny has been one of their most active volunteers helping at events, delivering talks (on one occasion to 180 people) and regularly attending and advising on home visits.

Jenny is a retired nurse and her medical knowledge and experience has been invaluable to the rest of the team. Jenny has delivered formal training to CSE’s advice team, both to paid staff and to the other volunteers, on the medical conditions impacted by cold and damp. Jenny has also improved CSE’s evaluation processes – contacting people who have been helped in the past and assessing how effective that help has been. Jenny has shown throughout how to have an understanding, caring approach when dealing with people as well as being very professional. Alongside her work in fuel poverty Jenny also volunteers at a homeless cafe, is a prison visitor and supports a school charity in Kenya.

The Heat Heroes will be presented with their awards at a ceremony in the House of Commons on 30 June.

11

ECAP SYSTEM

UP TO 60%SAVING ON INSTALLATION TIME!

The ECAP system comprises sheets of rigid insulation board to which a base coat cement render and mesh have been pre-applied in the factory prior to delivery to site. The resulting board provides a semi-finished EWI product that is quick to install, easy to handle and virtually unaffected by wet weather.

Anchor-dowel holes built-in

Fibreglass net embedded in the smoothing mortar

Before DAY ONE DAY TWO

Cement bases smoothing mortar

Anchor-dowel sites are predrilled and are covered by a precut net

ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR TO HAVE YOUR HOUSE AS NEW !

Thermal conductivity λ declared to 10°C EN 12667 0,031 W/mK

Compression resistance at 10% deformation CS (10) 70 EN 826 70 kPa100 kPa

Bending resistance BS 115 EN 12089 > = 115 kPa> = 150 kPa

Water absorption by total immersion and for a long period EN 12087 2%

Factor of resistance to the water vapour diffusion m EN 12086 20 - 4030 - 70

Permeability to water vapour EN 12086 0,018 - 0,036 mg/(Pa·h·m)0,010 - 0,024 mg/(Pa·h·m)

Fire reactivity UNI EN 13501-1 B-s2,d0

AfterDAY THREE DAY FOUR

WHY ChOOsE ECAPSPEED OF APPLICATION

> Up to 60% less application time compared to “traditional” EWI systems.> Not susceptible to bad weather.> Reduced costs for scaffold hire.

HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY

> ECAP is the only anti-vandal EWI system. > Factory applied mesh and mortar allows for

consistent quality every time!> More installations completed in the same period.> Competitive time advantage in tenders when

competing with traditional EWI systems.> Designed with the installer in mind.

EASE OF APPLICATION

> Instantly wind and water tight.> No EPS “snow-storm” on site.> Pre-drilled anchor dowel holes - no guess work!

PACKAGING

> Dimensions of the ECAP board: 1200 x 600 mm. - smooth edge> Standard thickness: 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 - 70 - 80 - 90 -

100 - 120 - 150 - 180 - 200 mm.

DAY TRADITIONAL SYSTEM ECAP

1 Position starting profile. Adhesively fix the insulation boards.

Position starting profile.Adhesively fix the insulation boards.Mechanically fix anchor-dowels.Grout or Finishing Basecoat.

2 Wait for adhesive to dry. Wait for finish to dry.

3 Mechanically fix anchor-dowels. Apply the first coat of smoothing mortar and fibreglass net. Apply primer for the coloured finishing mortar.

4 Wait for first coat to dry. Apply colour finishing mortar (END).

5 Apply second coat of smoothing mortar.

6 - 7 Wait for second coat of smoothing mortar to dry.

8 Apply primer for coloured finishing mortar.

9 Apply coloured finishing mortar (END).

ADVANTAGESCOMPARISON WITH “TRADITIONAL SYSTEM”Example: thermal insulation with EPS board on a two storey house wall (70 m²) with a team of three workers.

ECAP is box packagedand palletised.

This prevents damage during transport and

facilitates ease of storage on site!

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

THICKNESS mm. 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 120 150 180 200

N° BOARDS PER PALLET 74 56 44 38 32 28 26 22 18 14 12 10

TOTAL m2 PER PALLET 53,28 40,32 31,68 27,36 23,04 20,16 18,72 15,84 12,96 10,08 8,64 7,20

FASTER THAN 60%less time spent,

less risk to your home.

ECO & GREEN DEAL

APPROVED PRODUCT

Call now!Tel: +44 (0)1369 702070Email: info@gti-direct.com · www.gti-direct.com

ECAP SYSTEM

UP TO 60%SAVING ON INSTALLATION TIME!

The ECAP system comprises sheets of rigid insulation board to which a base coat cement render and mesh have been pre-applied in the factory prior to delivery to site. The resulting board provides a semi-finished EWI product that is quick to install, easy to handle and virtually unaffected by wet weather.

Anchor-dowel holes built-in

Fibreglass net embedded in the smoothing mortar

Before DAY ONE DAY TWO

Cement bases smoothing mortar

Anchor-dowel sites are predrilled and are covered by a precut net

ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR TO HAVE YOUR HOUSE AS NEW !

Thermal conductivity λ declared to 10°C EN 12667 0,031 W/mK

Compression resistance at 10% deformation CS (10) 70 EN 826 70 kPa100 kPa

Bending resistance BS 115 EN 12089 > = 115 kPa> = 150 kPa

Water absorption by total immersion and for a long period EN 12087 2%

Factor of resistance to the water vapour diffusion m EN 12086 20 - 4030 - 70

Permeability to water vapour EN 12086 0,018 - 0,036 mg/(Pa·h·m)0,010 - 0,024 mg/(Pa·h·m)

Fire reactivity UNI EN 13501-1 B-s2,d0

AfterDAY THREE DAY FOUR

WHY ChOOsE ECAPSPEED OF APPLICATION

> Up to 60% less application time compared to “traditional” EWI systems.> Not susceptible to bad weather.> Reduced costs for scaffold hire.

HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY

> ECAP is the only anti-vandal EWI system. > Factory applied mesh and mortar allows for

consistent quality every time!> More installations completed in the same period.> Competitive time advantage in tenders when

competing with traditional EWI systems.> Designed with the installer in mind.

EASE OF APPLICATION

> Instantly wind and water tight.> No EPS “snow-storm” on site.> Pre-drilled anchor dowel holes - no guess work!

PACKAGING

> Dimensions of the ECAP board: 1200 x 600 mm. - smooth edge> Standard thickness: 30 - 40 - 50 - 60 - 70 - 80 - 90 -

100 - 120 - 150 - 180 - 200 mm.

DAY TRADITIONAL SYSTEM ECAP

1 Position starting profile. Adhesively fix the insulation boards.

Position starting profile.Adhesively fix the insulation boards.Mechanically fix anchor-dowels.Grout or Finishing Basecoat.

2 Wait for adhesive to dry. Wait for finish to dry.

3 Mechanically fix anchor-dowels. Apply the first coat of smoothing mortar and fibreglass net. Apply primer for the coloured finishing mortar.

4 Wait for first coat to dry. Apply colour finishing mortar (END).

5 Apply second coat of smoothing mortar.

6 - 7 Wait for second coat of smoothing mortar to dry.

8 Apply primer for coloured finishing mortar.

9 Apply coloured finishing mortar (END).

ADVANTAGESCOMPARISON WITH “TRADITIONAL SYSTEM”Example: thermal insulation with EPS board on a two storey house wall (70 m²) with a team of three workers.

ECAP is box packagedand palletised.

This prevents damage during transport and

facilitates ease of storage on site!

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

THICKNESS mm. 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 120 150 180 200

N° BOARDS PER PALLET 74 56 44 38 32 28 26 22 18 14 12 10

TOTAL m2 PER PALLET 53,28 40,32 31,68 27,36 23,04 20,16 18,72 15,84 12,96 10,08 8,64 7,20

FASTER THAN 60%less time spent,

less risk to your home.

ECO & GREEN DEAL

APPROVED PRODUCT

Call now!Tel: +44 (0)1369 702070Email: info@gti-direct.com · www.gti-direct.com

14

NEA TO LEAD NEW RESEARCH INTO FUEL POVERTY AND CARBON DIOXIDE RISK NEA is delighted to announce funding from the Gas Safety Trust, the UK’s leading gas safety charity, to undertake research into the possible links between fuel poverty and carbon monoxide exposure risk.

Each year, 40 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning in England and Wales, which is caused by unsafe gas, oil and solid fuel appliances along with poor ventilation.

To prevent the build-up of carbon monoxide in the home, appliances must be regularly serviced and maintained while carbon monoxide alarms should also be installed. These activities are not free however and are unlikely to be prioritised by households on tight budgets. Indeed, a Department of Health study from 2011 suggested that one-fifth of low-income households could be regularly exposed to carbon monoxide levels above World Health Organisation guidelines.

NEA will build on this and other evidence through interviewing low-income vulnerable householders qualifying for Priority Services Registers. The latter are used by energy companies to flag up customers requiring additional assistance for reasons such as age, illness and disability. The interviews will focus on the role domestic heating and cooking practices play in increasing risk to carbon monoxide exposure.

Working with Liverpool John Moores University, the study will also monitor temperature, humidity and carbon monoxide levels in vulnerable householders’ properties across a range of tenures (owner-occupied, private and social rented sectors).

Chris Bielby, Gas Safety Trust Chairman, said in response to the funding: “Fuel poverty is an issue that the industry takes very seriously and I think it is critical that we look to understand whether there is a link between deprivation and a carbon monoxide-related safety risk.”

David Lynch, Project Development Manager at NEA, added: “Our research will enable us to gain real insight into the daily behaviours and attitudes of householders using various fuel-burning appliances within their home. NEA will work with our strategic partners to ensure the findings of this research are embedded in future initiatives and policies to help reduce risks associated with carbon monoxide.”

Interviews with households will begin in October this year, targeting North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber. For any organisations interested in finding out more about this research please contact juliette.burroughs@nea.org.uk.

CIGA PUBLISHES RANGE OF CWI STATISTICS IN FIRST EVER ANNUAL REPORT The Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA) has recently published its first ever publicly available annual report, available athttp://we.tl/9kGZWRZN09.

In the annual report, CIGA has published details of its board of directors, information on the agency’s financial holdings, and statistics demonstrating the reliability of cavity wall insulation in the UK. This information has never before been published in full in one place.

CIGA has also carried out research into customer satisfaction amongst consumers who have lodged a claim previously with the agency. That data, as well as providing a baseline against which improvements in customer experience can be measured, is presented in full in the report.

The annual report is being published as part of a wider programme implemented by CIGA to improve its transparency and make the organisation more responsive to consumers, helping support public trust in cavity wall insulation.

As part of this programme, CIGA has already appointed Teresa Perchard as a dedicated Consumer Champion, and she has contributed a foreword to the Annual Report setting out her priorities in her new role. CIGA has also recently

committed to its ‘call back pledge’, a new measure providing extra protection for consumers who make a claim against their CIGA guarantee.

Gerry Miller, Chief Executive of CIGA, said: “As the largest and most established provider of guarantees for cavity wall insulation retrofits in the UK, CIGA has a crucial role to play in supporting public confidence in cavity wall insulation.

“While it is true that cavity wall insulation is an extremely reliable product – problems affect only two in every thousand installations – it is also true that the industry must be totally transparent about how it deals with consumers when there is a problem.

“With that in mind, we’ve set out with this report to provide consumers with complete peace of mind. We’ve published CIGA’s finances, showing that the reserves we hold are more than adequate; shown who it is that sits on our board, demonstrating the expertise and experience they bring to the organisation; and set out in clear terms the changes we’re driving through.

“This is an important step and clearly demonstrates the will of CIGA and the industry to improve our transparency and service to consumers.”

LEICESTERSHIRE’S WARM HOMES, HEALTHY HOMES SERVICENEA and the Papworth Trust are co-delivering the Warm Homes, Healthy Homes Service across Leicestershire.

This new service is commissioned by Leicestershire’s Public Health team and aims to bring together a range of services which could be of benefit to householders on a low income, living in energy inefficient properties and facing health problems which are exacerbated by living in a cold damp home.

NEA has already provided training for the Papworth Trust Customer Service Hub staff who will be taking calls from householders. These staff members are now signposting callers to services such as the Energy Company Obligation, Warm Home Discount and the Priority Services Registers, as

well as providing benefits advice and support with switching to a more suitable tariff. In circumstances where the caller needs additional support, the Warm Homes, Healthy Homes Service will have a caseworker, based within the Papworth Trust, who will be able to make home visits to provide a more in-depth advice and support service.

NEA and Papworth Trust will soon be offering awareness raising sessions for community groups across Leicestershire to ensure that householders who need the service are aware of what it can provide help with. Groups of frontline staff will also be offered awareness raising sessions which will provide a quick and easy way of referring householders with whom they have contact during their day-to-day work.

In addition to the above, NEA’s research team will also be conducting a Health Needs Assessment for Leicestershire’s Public Health team.

Householders can contact the Warm Homes, Healthy Homes Service directly or be referred by a member of staff working on behalf of a householder. The contact number is 0300 333 6544.

For more information or to express an interest in holding an awareness raising session for a community group or team of frontline staff, please contact Nicky Swetnam at nicky.swetnam@nea.org.uk or 07714 291064.

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UKPN WORKING WITH FUEL POOR COMMUNITIESOur vision of being a respected corporate citizen, an employer of choice and sustainably cost efficient is at the heart of everything we do. In our eight-year Business Plan (2015-23), UK Power Networks has committed to enhance the services we provide to vulnerable customers and work proactively to help reduce fuel poverty in our three networks. Fuel poverty in England is measured by the Low Income High Costs criteria which define a household to be in fuel poverty if:

• they have required fuel costs that are above the national average; and

• were they to spend that amount they would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line.

As an electricity distribution company reaching 8 million homes and businesses, one of our objectives is to help strengthen local economies and communities through infrastructure investment as well as everyday actions including working with charitable organisations. Engaging with representative parties from across the local communities provides us with insights on their priorities and allows us to deliver services that better meet their needs. Furthermore, to engage with the hard-to-reach customers we have partnered with organisations that have considerable expertise in this area. This factor has been one of the key drivers of our decision to become a National Energy Action (NEA) Business Supporters Group member.

Publicly sharing our work on meeting our fuel poor customers’ needs further contributes to our vision of being a great place to work.

As part of our vison, we continuously strive to provide real value to customers. To ensure efficient allocation of resources and measure the effectiveness of the activities undertaken, we measure and report on our performance over time. We recognise that the benefits of any work we undertake is assessed by customers in different ways; sometimes it is about value for money wheras at other times it is about customer experience such as ease of access to our services in emergencies.

With this in mind we undertook a review of our work with NEA and looked at how other industries measure the benefits of partnership work. We paid special attention to anticipating and recording monetary benefits of our initiatives as cost efficiency is important to us and our customers in continuing efforts to keep distribution costs down to a small percentage of their energy bills. This article gives an overview of our initiatives with NEA over the last year and summarises how we have progressed over the previous two years to reach this pivotal point in our partnership.

Developing initiatives

One long-term partnership project, energywise, which we are currently running with ten organisations, including NEA, is exploring how residential customers who may be struggling with fuel bills can better manage their household energy usage and consequently their energy bills by changing their behaviour. The project is expected to run until 2017. The role of NEA is to ensure that the specific needs of the fuel poor and vulnerable customers are addressed in the course of the project and also to disseminate the leanings generated with fuel poverty stakeholders.

In 2013, in consultation with NEA, we decided to reach out to young carers in the poorer areas of London in order to communicate who we are and deliver energy efficiency workshops using NEA’s experience with this hard-to-reach group. In collaboration with NEA, we identified various fuel poor areas in London, so called ‘hotspots’, to run energy efficiency workshops. These were delivered in 2014 and 2015. Having reviewed the feedback from the young carer events, we decided to do the following:

1. we partnered with the Carers Trust to widen the reach to carers across our footprint (London, east and south east England); and

2. we worked with NEA to develop a series of drop–in energy advice surgeries.

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NEA and UK Power Networks: Promoting energy efficiency

The drop-in surgeries gave bespoke advice to every customer who attended based on their current energy usage. These sessions included discussions around energy awareness, insulation and supplier switching where we identified specific savings based on the advice given and options taken up. Refocusing our approach with these stakeholder groups allowed us to achieve more tangible benefits through our engagement activities.

Following the delivery of these six community surgeries we were able to record the following outputs:

Achievements of the Fuel Poverty programme with support from NEA

Customers attending

Customers receiving individual energy advice

Total annual savings made through using online switching sites

Total annual saving achieved through insulation recommendations

Total annual amount claimed through Warm Home Discount referrals

PSR* referrals

155 88 £10,314 140 £3,920 59

*PSR : Priority Services Register: This is a free register we provide to those who need extra support in the event of a power cut. See http://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/internet/en/power-cuts/priority-services-during-a-power-cut/ for more details and how to sign up. This register has further been boosted by several thousand thanks to a targeted media and social media campaign which kicked off in 2014.

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Social Return on Investment

Whilst these outputs gave us some indication of the impact from these events, we sought to understand our return on investment and applied a Social Return on Investment (SROI) model using guidance from two established models: the SROI model developed by Social Value UK (http://socialvalueuk.org/) and the LBG model (http://www.lbg-online.net/ ).

1. Identify all stakeholders involved and what we believe will change for them as a result of these projects. In this case we discussed potential benefits such as cost savings and quality of life improvements, over the short, medium and longer term.

2. Record all resources needed with our chosen partner (inputs) and the anticipated numbers of beneficiaries (outputs) and apply a financial value where appropriate. We recognise that it is difficult sometimes to assign financial values to some benefits such as the social benefits of bringing people together, improved reputation and brand awareness.

3. Assess what percentage of these changes (outcomes) would have occurred without our intervention so as to calculate the final financial impact of our engagement.

4. Compare the financial impact against the input costs to calculate the social return in a monetary figure.

When applying this model we have identified a social return of £1.19 for every pound invested by UK Power Networks.

This model has influenced our revised social obligations strategy. In our aim to deliver cost effective service, we will take the learnings from the initiatives with NEA and apply the return on investment methods and tools to implement further initiatives in fuel poor areas. We will continue to seek a better rate of return on our stakeholder engagement activities by rolling out the successful initiatives to other stakeholder groups across our network and achieving economies of scales where possible.

For further information please contact stakeholderengagement@ukpowernetworks.co.uk

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PEAKS & PLAINS HOUSING TRUST TO CHOP RESIDENTS’ HEATING BILLS New NEA member, Peaks & Plains Housing Trust in Macclesfield is the latest social housing trust to install Chop-Clocs in a bid to reduce their residents’ heating bills. The Trust has recently launched a Smart Energy Team who will be delivering a smart energy project to help and support Trust customers and Cheshire East residents. The main aim of the project is to help people who are in, or at risk of, fuel poverty.

The Smart Energy Team initially trialled and tested Chop-Cloc with highly successful results, as Kieran Holdcroft, Neighbourhood Manager for the Trust describes: “I’ve tested Chop-Cloc on a day-by-day basis on a 20-minute chop and noted a 17% saving”. Energy Support Officer for the Trust, Rebecca Parr also said: “We had some great results from using the Chop-Cloc and we were also really impressed with how easy the device is to use. We’re excited to share this technology with our customers and help them make real savings on their energy bills.”

In addition to being offered to tenants, Chop-Cloc has also been specified for inclusion in new build developments. Redmond Hodgkinson, Development Officer at the Trust explains: “As part of Peaks and Plains new development programme to build 170 funded and 80 Section 106 homes between 2015-2018, we will be including the Chop-Cloc energy saving device on all suitable properties to increase energy efficiency for our customers”.

Designed by The Chopping Company, the retrofit device cuts heating bills by up to 30%. Chop-Cloc is fitted to the central heating system and programmes it to cut out for between 15 and 45 minutes in each hour. This makes no difference to how warm the property feels, but creates a big saving on bills, with an average household saving over £120 a year and nearly 600kg of CO2 emissions. “Fuel poverty is at crisis levels. People shouldn’t have to compromise their comfort and health in order to avoid costly energy bills. Chop-Cloc helps people to control their energy use and reduce bills by an average of 16%. We are excited to partner with Peaks and Plains Housing Trust to deliver the benefits of Chopping” explains Mark Kerray, CEO at The Chopping Company.

ENDO ENTERPRISES RECEIVES H&V NEWS AWARDEndoTherm from NEA member Endo Enterprises (UK) Ltd has won Domestic Product of the Year (Safety & Sustainability) at the 2015 H&V News Awards.

More than 200 entrants were judged by industry peers in over 20 categories and the Endo team were at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London to pick up the prestigious award in front of 1200 guests.

The H&V News Awards are the most admired and coveted awards for the building services sector. Now in their 21st year, the awards provide industry recognition and networking opportunities. Announced by Dennis Flower (H&V News Editor) and presented by Bill Turnbull (BBC) EndoTherm was singled out as being a ‘truly exciting product that is expected to have a major impact in energy use in both domestic and commercial heating systems’.

EndoTherm’s winning entry was judged based on extensive case study data and three years of laboratory testing showing an ability to save up to 15% on energy costs for any wet heating system. For more information visit www.endotherm.co.uk.

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