Fuel Poverty: What you need to know
What is fuel poverty?
Fuel poverty is measured quite simply. You are considered fuel poor if you have required fuel costs that are above average, and if you were to spend the amount required would be left with an income below the official poverty line.
How do you become fuel poor?
There are factors outside of heating systems that can contribute to a household living in fuel poverty - insulation, glazing and building fabric, for example, can all play a part, especially in older homes. The fact remains, however, that too many households are living with outdated or ineffective heating systems in electrically heated homes. In fact, due to their inherent reliability, the average storage heater in the UK is more than 20 years old, and around 70% of the UK’s installed storage heaters are of the old, manually-controlled variants.
What’s the solution?
If you are living with outdated electric heating then upgrading can prove to be the best long-term solution. Upgrading to storage heaters like Dimplex Quantum or panel heaters like Q-Rad offer unrivalled controls compared to their obsolete counterparts, giving you total control of your heating and boasting capabilities to adapt to your usage, lifestyle and climate conditions. They deliver heat only when it is required ensuring no energy or money is wasted and Quantum’s use of primarily off-peak energy is expected to supply 90% of your heating requirement – saving you money all year round.
Fuel poverty is not inevitable, by upgrading your heating system to one with greater control and capabilities, you will be ensuring your money is going as far as possible.