Keele University based marketing experts Socially Grown, in consortium with Residential Energy Services, has won £373,329 of funding towards a mobile energy advice service for hard-to-reach households, funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and supported by the Midlands Net Zero Hub.
They are one of 36 successful applicants to the Government’s Local Energy Advice Demonstrator Programme (LEAD), funding innovative new approaches to providing energy efficiency advice to those in need. 9 pilot projects will be delivered, exploring innovative approaches to providing in-person, home energy advice to consumer groups in the Midlands.
Since 2014, Residential Energy Services (RES) has provided energy subsidy awareness and advisory services to over 20,000 individual households in the UK, engaging with householders face-to-face to advise on energy efficiency measures. RES specialise in educating householders on energy efficiency measures and managing the customer journey from initial advice through to installation.
Socially Grown in consortium with Residential Energy Services has successfully secured demonstrator funding to launch their creative engagement programme that supports even the most hard-to-reach and vulnerable homes.
Starting in the regions of Staffordshire and Shropshire, a community outreach and education vehicle will be on the move, providing a local, mobile means to raise energy efficiency awareness, integrating with hard-to-reach householders, and co-creating energy plans to help reduce fuel bills and improve housing stock.
According to End Fuel Poverty, 7.39 million households in England spent more than 10% of their income (after housing costs) on energy bills in 2022. Over half of low-income households are residing in inefficient homes, with campaigners warning the rate of progress is below that which is needed to meet UK net-zero targets.
The project aims to provide 6000 householders per year with immediate access to experienced energy and retrofit advisors, as the RES pop-up hub will appear in key locations such as health centres, community centres and rural shows. The project will run for two years.
“Through this initiative, our objective is to pioneer a transformative approach, catering to the energy advisory needs of underserved communities, by introducing a mobile energy advice service. Leveraging our expertise and forward-thinking methods, we are committed to delivering in-person advice, tailored to each individual home, addressing individual needs and co-creating meaningful action plans that result in retrofit measures being installed.”
Sarah Parry – Managing Director, Socially Grown/ Residential Energy Services
“We want everyone to be able to get expert advice on how to make their homes more energy efficient, no matter where they live, so they can save money.
These innovative projects will bring that expertise right to people’s doorsteps, quite literally in some cases, ensuring people are given the best advice on how to save money on their bills and heat their homes for less without needing to search for it.
This is alongside our investment of billions of pounds to improve energy efficiency across the country – reducing bills at the same time as making sure Britain’s homes are fit for the future.”
Amanda Solloway, Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability
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If you would like more information on this announcement, please contact Sarah Parry on
07506 799909 or at sarah.parry@sociallygrown.co.uk
Notes to Editor
The five Local Net Zero Hubs are working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to deliver the Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD). The LEAD programme will fund projects that pilot innovative approaches to delivering in-person energy advice.
The pilot has two main objectives:
To tackle hard-to-treat buildings which are often more complex to address through digital and telephone advice.
To support hard-to-reach consumers, for example the elderly, those with limited internet access, and minority ethnic groups.
The LEAD pilots are an integral part of the multi-channel home energy advice service being developed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. In addition to the LEAD programme, the Department is launching a new energy retrofit advice service on Gov.UK to help people better understand how to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes.
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