New heating system for rural Northumberland householder
The Calor FREE project in the North East has enabled greater contact between NEA and West Northumberland CAB, which has produced a number of benefits including direct practical assistance to a very vulnerable householder.
The West Northumberland CAB Fuel Poverty Worker contacted Claire Green, NEAs North East Coordinator regarding the case of 61 year old Mrs Rafferty who had severe osteoporosis and arthritis, which meant she found it very difficult to bend over.
Her husband died 2 years ago, he worked full time and the loss of his income had meant she had struggled financially since then. Her semi-detached home in the Bardon Mill area of Northumberland had no connection to mains gas; it did have cavity wall insulation but there was little to no loft insulation.
Mrs Rafferty's home was heated by an inefficient solid fuel fire with a back boiler and an immersion heater for hot water. She particularly struggled with this as she had to clean it out 3 times a week and regularly had to add coal throughout the day; this was very difficult for her to do without bending and she had to sit on the floor to achieve this which caused her a lot of pain. Her chronic asthma was also severely aggravated by dust particles from the coal fire, causing regular bouts of wheezing.
She spent £30 per month on electricity via a pre-payment meter and £30 per week on coal. These payments were within 20% of her fixed annual income so she was in fuel poverty. She didn't claim any benefits and had no savings as she had to use these to bring her house into a better state of repair when her husband died.
With this in mind, the NEA Co-ordinator approached a range of contacts to enable assistance. The CAB Fuel Poverty Worker ensured Mrs Rafferty claimed certain benefits to increase her income and organised for full loft insulation from Northumberland Warm Zone. Although the client was potentially eligible for a new heating system under Warm Front, grant applications had been suspended in the early part of 2011 and with stringent eligibility changes approaching, it was unlikely that Mrs Rafferty would be able to take advantage of the scheme.
Although there were loans available from Northumberland County Council, these would not have been suitable in the case of Mrs Rafferty who was already struggling with finances. Unfortunately her home was also too far away from existing gas pipelines to allow a mains gas connection.
After discussing the case with Adam Jones, NEAs Technical Officer, he approached a contact at Baxi Ltd who very kindly agreed to donate one of their efficient LPG back boilers as part of the Calor FREE project. CalorForce, part of Calor Gas Ltd then also kindly approved funding for the tank connection, boiler installation and labour costs.
Work began in July 2011 and was completed within days. The CalorForce team had to excavate the front garden in order to house the 2000 litre tank; a crane was used to lower the tank underground and the team worked hard to ensure that the garden was left in a pristine condition. Heating engineers then attended the site to connect the heating system internally, removing the old fire and immersion heater. A new programmer was installed and Mrs Rafferty was shown how to control her new heating system at the flick of a switch.
It is still early days but although it's summer Mrs Rafferty has still been required to use her heating for a few days when temperatures have been low. She has already commented that physically she feels so much better not having to contend with the pain and anxiety of using her fire, and has seen a marked improvement in her asthma. She is very happy with the workmanship of the installation and has even been given more space, owed to the removal of the immersion heater, fire and coal stored in an outside shed. This has now been cleared and a tumble drier will be stored in there.
NEA will continue to work with West Northumberland CAB to monitor the improvement in Mrs Rafferty's well-being, and to ensure her new payments are affordable.
Assistance in East Yorkshire
Background
Calor has sponsored the Future of Rural Energy in Europe (Calor FREE) project in each of the eight English regions. Delivery has been undertaken by the Humber and Wolds Rural Community Council and National Energy Action in partnership with East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the Pension Service and the Community Fire Safety Team.
An information point bus travelled to over 20 villages offering advice and support to those struggling to pay their bills in off gas grid areas.
Mr and Mrs A's situation
Mr and Mrs A are a couple in their 80's living in a rural village in a privately rented property which is part of a village estate. Mr A visited the bus and asked what help or support he could expect to receive as his house was cold and the bills high. Mr A was given information relating to available grants but he was unable to say whether or not he was in receipt of qualifying benefits. Mr A had to return home fairly hastily as he had left his wife, who suffered from dementia, alone.
Staff on the bus were able to follow up Mr A's request for further help and made a home visit on the same day. Mrs A was living and sleeping downstairs and Mr A slept upstairs. The main source of heat was an open coal fire with 2 plug-in electric heaters providing supplementary heat. There was no heating in Mrs A's downstairs bedroom other than the plug in electric heaters. Mr A had to carry an electric heater upstairs to heat his bedroom. The property had a flat roofed extension to the rear where the kitchen was situated. Mr A said that it was "cold all the time, summer and winter"
What happened?
A benefits entitlement check was carried out and the couple were referred for a Warm Front grant as they were already in receipt of eligible benefits. Cavity wall insulation has been installed and a surveyor from Warm Front has visited and electric storage heaters are to be fitted to the property in Spring 2011 under the Government's Warm Front Scheme.
Points to note
- It was apparent from viewing the downstairs of the property that health and/or social care staff visited the household but had not referred the couple for support
- Many tenants living in privately rented rural properties pay ‘peppercorn' rents and are averse to applying for grants or asking their landlords to carry our improvements in energy efficiency in case their rental costs increase.
