As energy bills go up, households are looking for ways to reduce their consumption: which is where energy efficiency services come in.
Just as the name suggests, an energy efficiency service is a service designed to help you use less energy – without coming at the cost of your comfort, performance, or productivity.
There are many different types of energy efficiency services available (some of which you may already be using without even knowing!) and, if you’re a consumer looking to reduce your utility bills or carbon footprint, they may be exactly what you need.
So, what is an energy efficiency service and how does it work? Let’s get into it!
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What is an energy efficiency service?
An energy efficiency service is a utility service intended to reduce your existing energy consumption. They’re a win-win for consumers and the planet: they lower the cost of your energy bills, and less carbon enters the atmosphere!
The way energy efficiency services can achieve this is that they are designed to identify and mitigate the areas where consumers waste the most amount of energy.
This means that, when you tell your utility provider you’re interested in energy efficiency services, they may do a Home Energy Audit to assess your consumption, and offer practical solutions to reduce waste.
For example:
If your home has poor insulation and you have to keep your heating on all winter, your utility provider may suggest upgrading to better insulation.
Energy efficiency services come in many different forms – which we’ll explore next!
What are the common types of energy efficiency services?
Not every utility provider will offer the same types of energy efficiency services, and not every energy efficiency service will be appropriate for every property or energy consumption style.
However, here are some of the most common types you may encounter (or want to consider for your own property).
1) Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)
You’ve almost certainly seen this one before!
An Energy Performance Certificate is a document that rates the energy efficiency of a property from A-G (where an A rating is the most energy-efficient, and a G rating is the least energy-efficient).
An EPC will also include:
- Recommendations on other energy efficiency services to improve your property’s performance
- An estimation on what your energy performance could be after implementing the proposed energy efficiency services
In the UK, EPCs are generally required if you’re going to sell or rent your home, so that prospective tenants know about its energy performance.
2) Energy as a Service (EaaS)
This type of energy efficiency service offers a practical, low-stress solution for many consumers.
Instead of you having to buy and maintain your own energy-efficient equipment, Energy as a Service business models allow you to pay for everything on a subscription basis, rather than owning the equipment yourself.
You can think of it like you’re paying a monthly fee to lease it!
For example:
- You want to install solar panels, but they’re too expensive
- You enter an EaaS agreement with your utility provider to have them install the solar panels instead
- You pay a set monthly fee to keep the solar panels, while the utility provider owns & maintains them
As you can see, by entering an EaaS agreement, you avoid the upfront costs of buying and installing the solar panels yourself – because they’re owned by the utility provider. Instead, you only pay that set monthly fee for the energy-efficient service the panels provide you.
3) Home Energy Assessments
While an EPC grades the energy-efficiency of the property itself, a Home Energy Assessment is an in-depth diagnosis of your usage of that property – and how that impacts your energy consumption.
A Home Energy Assessment may take the following things into consideration:
- Loft, cavity wall, and solid wall insulation
- Windows, doors, and draught-proofing
- Heating systems
- Lighting
- Household appliances
A Home Energy Assessment will also offer you recommendations on next steps you can take to improve your energy consumption, based on its findings.
4) Energy Management Services
While this kind of energy efficiency service is primarily used by businesses, it does offer peace-of-mind for customers looking to keep their energy usage down consistently day-to-day.
Energy management services provide ongoing support to help customers monitor, manage and reduce their energy consumption.
Rather than carrying out a one-off assessment, they:
- Continuously monitor your energy consumption
- Collect data on your energy usage (and review it)
- Identify unusual consumption patterns
- Recommend improvements
Energy management services can also help customers establish targets for reducing energy consumption.
Should I use an energy efficiency service?
Now that we’ve explored some of the most common types of energy efficiency services and their benefits, here’s the question many consumers will be wondering:
Should I use an energy efficiency service for my own home?
The answer to that is personal: not every consumer, or every home, will see practical benefits from an energy efficiency service.
However, it may be worth getting an energy efficiency assessment done if:
- Your energy bills seem unusually high
- Your home is difficult or expensive to heat
- You have an older boiler, heating system or electrical equipment
- You’re planning renovations or improvements to your property
- You intend to rent out, or sell your property
- You want to reduce your carbon footprint
Even if you get your property assessed (such as via an EPC, or Home Energy Assessment), that doesn’t mean you’re forced to implement their suggestions on what to improve; you could always get an assessment done and decide it’s not worth implementing the recommendations afterwards.
How much do energy efficiency services cost?
The cost of an energy efficiency service will vary from provider to provider, and from service to service.
For example, an EaaS agreement is likely to cost less upfront than installing your own energy-efficient equipment – but you may need to weigh up the long-term costs after that to decide which would be more suited to you.
If in doubt, you should always contact your own utility provider to ask about pricing of the specific service you’re interested in; many providers may offer basic energy assessments or advice services for free!
Before agreeing to implement any energy-efficient service, consider asking:
- What is included in the initial assessment?
- Will I receive a written report?
- Are recommendations based on my actual energy consumption?
- Are installation or improvement costs included?
- Can the provider estimate potential savings?
- Are there any grants or financial support schemes available?
Can I improve my energy efficiency without professional help?
Even if you’re not ready to pay for an energy efficiency service just yet, there are still some practical steps you could take to lower your energy usage.
1) Reduce draughts
If your rooms feel cold, it may be worth checking to see if there are any unnecessary gaps you can seal around your house or windows.
2) Turn off radiators in unused rooms
If you’re about to watch TV in the living room for an hour, then there’s no need for your kitchen’s radiator to stay on while you’re not there!
3) Use your heating controls
You could try setting heating schedules to suit your routine, rather than heating your house all day unnecessarily.
4) Switch to LED lightbulbs
LED lightbulbs are generally considered more energy efficient than standard lightbulbs.
How can UtilitiesADR help with an energy efficiency service complaint?
UtilitiesADR is a free-to-use independent Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme that considers non-regulated complaints between consumers and participating utility providers. We’ll review the information and evidence provided by both parties before reaching an impartial decision… All within 60 Days of declaring a Complete Complaint File!
We offer 3 ways for you to submit your complaint to us, all of which are completely FREE:
Not sure what the difference between regulated and non-regulated utility complaints is? Please see our dedicated article on this:
> Regulated VS Non-Regulated Utility Complaints: What’s the Difference?
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