“Heat and warmth must not be considered a luxury,” insists Heating & Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) director Stewart Clements, speaking out ahead of Fuel Poverty Awareness Day on the 26 February.

“The Committee on Climate Change’s Fifth Carbon Budget outlined that fuel poverty has risen to 4.5 million households in 2013, up from 3.3 million in 2007, and suggested that even with fully funded targeted action it will take 15 years to return to the position we were in eight years ago,” he said.

“Currently households often waste a huge amount of energy and money trying to heat and power their inefficient homes. If we just replaced the 9 million inefficient boilers in UK homes and installed proper heating controls then household energy bills could be drastically reduced. Cutting this energy waste and achieving higher levels of energy efficiency would not only prevent fuel poverty, but would help tackle climate change by cutting carbon emissions.

“A further benefit of installing energy efficiency measures would be the reduction in the costs to the NHS on repeatedly treating individuals affected by living in the cold. Isn’t it finally time that heat and warmth are available to all.”

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock/BlazejLyjak