Health benefits of a warm home: Scarborough people could qualify for help with energy efficiency improvements

A warm home is a healthy home – you could qualify for help with fully funded energy efficiency improvements

There are important health reasons to keep your home warm and cosy in winter – and there’s help out there to make it more energy efficient

We all feel better when we’re in a warm home – especially at this time of year when winter chills, colds and gloomy weather outside can leave us feeling down.

But did you know it’s not just the ‘feel good factor’ we get from having a comfortable and warm home, but tangible medical benefits?

According to NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) which provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care, having a warm home can prevent winter illnesses and even deaths.

According to Community Interest Company YES Energy Solutions, mental health can also be negatively affected by improperly heated homes, child development has been shown to slow in colder homes and cold walls lead to damp and mould which can create allergic reactions or breathing difficulties from spores released into the home.

How warm should your home be?

Homes should be heated to between 18 and 21 degrees to stay healthy, say YES Energy Solutions, which runs a scheme providing support to people in the Scarborough area to keep their homes efficiently heated.

With the cost of energy currently high, it’s tempting to cut back on your heating by switching it off, but this can be detrimental to your wellbeing according to YES Energy Solutions.

A warm home is particularly important for people classed as vulnerable, such as elderly people, young children, pregnant women or those with health conditions.

There are simple ways to cut down on your bills and keep your home warm. These include washing clothes at lower temperatures like 30 or 40 degrees, air drying laundry rather than using a tumble drier, paying energy bills by direct debit to benefit from discounts and shopping around with sites like USwitch and Compare the Market to find the best deal for you.

Support for low income families

There is a government backed scheme run on behalf of local councils in North Yorkshire which could help low income residents in Scarborough keep their homes warmer for less.

It is called the North Yorkshire Home Efficiency Fund and offers grants averaging £10,000 to people who qualify to help pay for things like wall insulation, loft insulation, air source heat pumps, solar panels and high heat retention storage heaters – all of which can help cut your energy bills.

It’s available to home owners, or private renters with a landlord contribution, and is available to residents who have a household income of £30,000 or less or who are in receipt of means tested benefits. Your property would need to have a low energy rating and be suitable for the works planned; and is open to people in Scarborough, Ryedale and Hambleton.

Not only is this a scheme backed by the Government but it is run by local councils too – a consortium including North Yorkshire County Council, Hambleton District Council, Ryedale District Council and Scarborough Borough Council. And YES Energy Solutions itself was established by West Yorkshire’s Kirklees Council.

How do I find out more?

YES Energy Solutions has already transformed the energy efficiency of over 2,902 homes, cutting customer fuel bills by £36m over the lifetime of the improvements installed.

Your home could be next, so for more information and advice, and a form to apply, visit https://www.yesenergysolutions.co.uk/schemes/north-yorkshire-home-efficiency-fund