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In the wake of the Scottish Government's latest 'Review of Fuel Poverty in Scotland', published in May 2010, Baxi Group has urged local authorities and homeowners to alleviate fuel poverty issues by investing more in low and zero carbon (LZC) heating technologies. These can offer a win-win solution, helping to solve problems with fuel poverty in urban and especially rural dwellings areas at the same time as reducing carbon emissions.
The report reveals that almost one in four Scottish households is categorised as unable to afford to heat their homes to a satisfactory standard, or fuel poor. The situation has been deteriorating since 2002, due to recent energy price increased, and is three times worse than in English households. The impact of fuel poverty is likely to result in poor diet and reduced participation in social, leisure and educational activities, according to the Review.
"Energy efficient heating has an important role to play in alleviating fuel poverty. Replacing a standard efficiency boiler with a new A-rated model can save households money on their gas bills straight away, bringing estimated savings of around £235 a year," explains Simon Osborne, Baxi Group's Specification Channel Manager.
"Meanwhile, microgeneration technology, such as micro-CHP (Combined Heat and Power), has a central role to play in reducing fuel bills and offsetting electricity purchased from the grid, so providing real energy savings for the homeowner or occupant and cutting carbon emissions for Scotland. Here, at Baxi we offer a comprehensive range of LZC heating solutions which can provide exactly the right heating system to meet a home's particular needs," he adds.
The Review recognised that the Scottish Government's Central Heating Programme, which provides a package of measures to pensioner households to combat fuel poverty, is not working effectively. Instead, it identifies the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) as the main vehicle for delivering energy efficiency into homes. Introduced in April, this three-year programme places an obligation on energy supply companies to achieve targets for assisting households to take up energy efficiency measures.
Baxi Group is well-placed to help homeowners as well as public and private sector specifiers reduce fuel and carbon emissions in new and existing dwellings with its extensive LZC heating and hot water range. Baxi Ecogen is the first available wall-hung, domestic Stirling engine micro-CHP unit and it can reliably generate up to 60% of a typical dwelling's electrical requirements. Around 40% of the generated energy can be used in the home with the balance exported back to the grid, creating revenue for the householder using the Government's Feed-in Tariff scheme.
