The non-departmental Committee on Fuel Poverty, which assesses the UK Government’s progress in meeting targets to reduce fuel poverty, has called for a “fabric first” strategy to address fuel poverty, which it says has not been meaningfully reduced since 2019.
The Committee made the call in its 2024 Annual Report, which was titled “Can Fuel Poverty be Ended?” It stated that 3.17 million households in England (13.0%) were still in fuel poverty in 2023, barely down from the 3.18 million households (13.1%) in 2022. It argued that strategies to make households warmer since 2022 had been less effective due to a move away from the fabric-first approach, which prioritises reducing heat loss from buildings, such as through better insulation, rather than changing the heating system itself. It can be compared to fixing the hole in a leaky bucket rather than finding new ways to keep filling it.
The report therefore proposes that:
“…tackling fuel poverty among fuel poor households requires a fabric first insulation approach, completing these programmes for all fuel poor and vulnerable households, before resources are directed at the incorporation of low-carbon heating systems into those properties.”
While a well-insulated home is vital for energy efficiency, it’s also important your gas boiler is working efficiently. Xgas can a provide a boiler service in Wrexham and other nearby locations like Chester and Oswestry, as well as replace an old inefficient boiler with a much more efficient modern condensing boiler. Get it touch to learn more about this and the available financing options.
