Member Briefing Aug 2011
What is RE:NEW?
RE:NEW is a London–wide scheme funded by the Mayor of London offering all households
in specific target areas, for a limited time only, a free home energy visit which could help to
lower utility bills by up to £160 a year.
This funding will assist residents within Ealing to reduce their energy costs while
contributing to Ealing’s carbon reduction targets. The project will also help to alleviate fuel
poverty through increased energy efficiency and income maximisation advice.
How is RE:NEW being delivered?
On behalf of West London boroughs, LB Hillingdon carried out a tendering exercise and
will be appointing Groundwork London to deliver the project to 1,600 homes in the borough
starting from early September 2011 and the delivery plan is as follows:
Main programme: The scheme will operate in the Southall area, which has been identified
as an area containing relatively high concentrations of fuel poverty and potential for carbon
reduction. Within the Southall Broadway and Southall Green wards, the proposals include
home visits by a trained home energy advisor, along with a range of community events and
school workshops. These workshops will not only help to encourage take-up of the visits
but also help to reinforce behaviour change actions through pupils within the home.
The RE:NEW delivery model involves strong community engagement which assists with
encouraging area based take up and reinforces long term behaviour change. The
programme will continue to be rolled out in both wards until the required 1,600 home visits
have been completed, which is expected to be by the end of March 2012.
Ongoing Borough wide - fuel poverty referrals: Of the planned 1,600 visits, a maximum
of 160 visits will be allocated for out-of-area referrals from various agencies such as Age
UK and CAB. These referrals are aimed at assisting vulnerable residents across the
borough to access the scheme, being those who are at risk of being affected by fuel
poverty or energy related issues.
What does a RE:NEW home visit provide?
The project will predominantly deliver energy efficiency measures to owner occupied and
private rented homes; the small proportion of council-owned and housing association
properties in the area may also be visited, as the GLA have specified that RE:NEW is a
cross tenure programme. The project will assist in particular, older householders and those
on low incomes. The customer journey will involve:
1.
Home energy assessment: A survey of the whole property is carried out to find out
how the home is heated, insulated and what energy saving devices can be installed.
2.
Installation of energy & water saving devices - FREE OF CHARGE (depending on
suitability for the home and availability of stock) :

Low Energy Light bulbs: Various shapes, sizes and wattages will be available to
replace standard light bulbs.

Energy Monitor: A portable display showing how much electricity is being used in
real time, helping residents to become aware of energy wasting actions.
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Member Briefing Aug 2011

Standby switches: This is a multi-socket plug to switch off appliances when left on
standby.

Reflective Radiator Panels: This is a thin metallic panel fitted behind radiators to
reflect the heat back into the home and not the outside walls.

Draught proofing: This will help to seal gaps to ill-fitted external doors and
letterbox covers, therefore cutting draughts and stopping heat escaping from the
home.

Cistern Water savers: Placed in the toilet cistern, this reduces the amount of water
used for each flush.

Shower timer: Saves water and energy by cutting the time spent in the shower.

Aerating showerhead: Uses less water and energy by mixing air in with the flow,
but still provides pressure like a normal shower.

Tap aerators: Mixes air in with water, which reduces the amount of water and
energy used.

A range of other devices including: Hot water tank insulation, Low wattage
Halogen spot lights and blocking gaps.
3.
Insulation measures: Homes requiring loft and cavity wall insulation will be referred
to an approved installer. ‘Priority’ households aged over 70 or in receipt of income
related benefits would be eligible for free cavity wall insulation and full loft insulation.
All other private households can access heavily discounted prices for these measures.
Draught proofing to windows can also be offered at a small charge only with these
measures.
4.
Heating measures: If required, advice on heating measures and grants such as
Warm Front will be provided.
5.
Benefit checks: Low income residents requiring a benefit entitlement check will be
referred to the Income Max service. The service has proved to be very successful and
includes regular reporting of all outcomes, which can be fed into the Health & Wellbeing Board as a clear partnership approach.
6.
Higher cost measures: The project will also engage with residents on the potential
for further measures such as renewable energy technologies and solid wall insulation.
Residents will be advised on existing Government funding streams such as the Feedin Tariff (FIT) for installing Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and the Renewable Heat
Incentive (RHI) for technologies such as solar hot water panels and air source heat
pumps. In the short term, this would particularly assist able-to-pay residents to achieve
further savings; however future schemes targeting low income households could be
followed up.
7.
Tailored Energy Advice: By asking a range of questions the Home Energy Advisor
will identify ways the householder(s) could save energy by carrying out simple
changes such as resetting heating controls and advice on the best energy tariffs
including how much money can be saved by doing this. A bespoke Energy Saving
Advice Pack is left with the householder, which can be shared with other members of
the family and contains all information relating to their visit, from advice given, easy
measures installed and referrals made.
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Member Briefing Aug 2011
How is RE:NEW promoted to residents?
Warm up letter: A council headed letter will be dropped to all households within the target
area on a phased basis. The letter explains that a home energy advisor will call round to
the property in a few days to explain more about the benefits of booking a home visit.
Householders may also book appointments via the free phone number provided on the
letter. The letter also has a council contact telephone number so that residents can verify
the validity of the scheme.
Door knocking: the warm up letter is followed up by door-knocking on a street by street
basis. The Home energy advisers will encourage householders to book a home visit by
providing a leaflet containing more detailed information on the scheme and by showing
samples of the easy measures that could be installed. If the householder is not at home
during the door knock, a ‘missed you’ card is left to encourage them to call and arrange an
appointment.
Sample marketing materials
Posters: Local community buildings such as libraries, GP surgeries and shops will display
posters encouraging residents to book visits via the free phone number.
Community Energy Surgeries: Around 15 high quality community events will be planned
to promote the service and to reinforce the presence of the scheme within the area.
Groundwork has particular expertise in community engagement and will build on existing
links within the area such as the community gardener work in Southall with older people
and those with disabilities, which will help them target vulnerable households, and their
healthy walks programme, which has just started to work in Southall.
School workshops: The schools within the target area will be offered assemblies and
workshops based on key messages around saving energy in school and the home. This
will help to encourage take-up and reinforce behaviour change advice provided during the
visit.
Presentations: To encourage ‘out of area’ fuel poverty referrals, presentations will be
provided to agencies such as CAB and Age UK to encourage referrals of residents who
would particularly benefit from the service.
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