A new boiler that simultaneously generates electricity and central heating will become available in January. Flow Energy’s gas boiler can generate approximately 40% of a home’s electricity, cutting the average household’s energy bills by around £200 every year, and providing top-in Feed in Tariff payments of up to £300. But the new boiler isn’t just…
If your house catches alight, the flames won’t necessarily be the biggest danger. More than half of all deaths in house fires are due to smoke inhalation – some estimate that the actual figure is closer to 80%. When people inhale the gases created by combustion – which can include cyanide and carbon monoxide –…
A simple snap-on retrofit device could reduce energy bills for millions of households across the globe. The Jul Bujh is a geyser controller that works through a smartphone and promises to reduce the energy consumption of old gas boilers by between 20 and 40%. The developers are initially targeting consumers in Pakistan, and believe they…
Hallowe’en and Bonfire Night aren’t just fun and games – a huge range of home emergencies can occur over these dates. An analysis of home insurance claims from Aviva found that the number of burglaries on bonfire night is 22% higher than average, suggesting that bad ‘guys’ tour the neighbourhood when people are at organised…
A new boiler replacement grant is helping people in Bicester improve their energy efficiency and keep warm over the winter. The Boiler Replacement Scheme offers landlords, private tenants and homeowners the opportunity to upgrade their boiler and receive as much as £300 cashback. Everyone within the Bicester ring road is eligible for the scheme, although…
What steps should you take to protect your health this winter? We’ve looked into how to get a home ready for winter, but how can you prepare your body? The winter months leads to at least 25,000 excess deaths every year in England alone, with pregnant women, the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions…
Only 28% of UK homeowners think their home is “very prepared” for the winter, leaving millions of people vulnerable to home emergencies and boiler breakdowns. This is according to a survey by Sainsbury’s Bank Home Insurance, which also found that 1% of people think their homes are not prepared for the cold weather at all,…
Hundreds of thousands of people had their homes broken into last year, official statistics have revealed. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) found that around 779,000 incidents of domestic burglary occurred in the two countries from July 2013 to June 2014. Of these, approximately 569,000 involved the domestic burglary of a dwelling, while…
Homeowners in Northern Ireland are being encouraged to get new boilers installed through the Boiler Replacement Allowance. What is the boiler replacement scheme? The scheme, operated by the Department for Social Development, will conclude at the end of March 2015. So far, more than 15,800 households have been able to replace their old, inefficient boilers with…
A four-month-old infant and his mother and father were hospitalised with carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of their landlords’ failure to adhere to their legal gas safety requirements, a court heard. Suraiya Bobat, 46, and her husband Mehboob Bobat, 47, were each told to complete 8 hours of community work, to pay a £60 victim…
