A Liverpool homeowner is saving around £100 a month after making some small changes to his home.
David Foster owns a property in Larkhill Lane in Clubmoor, where he has lived for 40 years.
He made the decision to make some changes to how he heats his home after his boiler broke in October 2021, just as the winter months were drawing in and as energy bills were soaring.
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David looked into getting a free heat pump to replace his broken boiler and contacted Next Energy, who specialise in energy efficient services.
David's son, Mark, explained that the company offered up temporary heaters for the house, so that David would not go cold while they looked into installing new equipment to heat his home.
David's house was then installed with an Air Source Heat Pump, new loft insulation, new radiators and solar panels on his roof.
Mark said: "The heat pump is great, it’s powered by electric but the solar panels counter act most of the increase in electric and it’s also ended my dad's gas bill.
"All in all my dad says he’s about £80/£100 per month better off, and that's bearing in mind that’s been through the cold months of November, December, January and February where the heating has been on quite a lot.
"My dad would advise anybody who is thinking of this type of work on their house to go for it."
David's case is one that Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram is keen to promote and he recently visited the Clubmoor property.
The city region's combined authority recently received an additional £3.6 million to improve the energy performance of low-income households in a bid to tackle both fuel poverty and carbon emissions.
This additional funding will enable measures such as solar panels, improved insulation, double glazing and air-source heat pumps to be fitted to an additional 319 homes in the Liverpool City Region.
Mayor Rotheram said: “Like thousands of others, Dave’s story shines a spotlight up to the strain that the energy crisis is forcing on households across the region with many struggling to heat their homes.
“We want to help families combat the devastating impact that soaring energy prices are placing on people’s mental health and living standards and giving them real peace of mind. We’re investing nearly £55m to put money back into the pockets of more than 5,000 of our most vulnerable and disadvantaged households through a substantial retrofit programme.
“In real terms, it will cut energy bills and ensure that the most vulnerable will no longer having to make impossible choices between heating their homes or feeding their families. And it’s already having a significant impact to people across the region – as stories like Dave’s shows.
“But, with 700,000 homes in the Liverpool City Region, there is still much more work to be done and we can’t achieve our ambitions alone. If the government is serious about reaching their own net zero targets, they must work with us to help secure the investment we need to help make that happen.”
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