Last week, we caught up wtih Mr Oliver, one of our recent grant recipients, to ask him about his experience with Stellar and how he’s finding his new energy efficiency measures. Mr Oliver has had the full ECO4 grant, meaning he’s had internal wall insulation, ventilation, solar panels and an air source heat pump installed at his property completely free of charge.Mr Oliver shared with me that he had heard about the grant, and Stellar Energy more specifically, through word of mouth, and he “looked into Stellar Energy to see what your feedback was like on different websites. The reviews were certainly a lot better compared to the other companies.”
That confidence paid off. Since his installation, Mr. Oliver has noticed a real change in the comfort of his home; “It has made a difference! I can feel the difference in the temperature of the inside walls now. I can tell just by touching them that it’s a lot warmer. It used to be a cold spot, which is no longer there.” The upgrades have replaced his reliance on oil heating and in turn has made his home more efficient overall. “It’s definitely warmer, without too much cost compared to what it would’ve been if I wanted to put the central heating on.”
Saving Money and Energy
When asked about running costs, Mr. Oliver said the improvements were already paying off.
“It’s costing slightly more for the electricity yes, but when you factor in what I’m not paying for the oil, then it’s better. The electricity is costing about £1 more per day but that’s not accounting for the money I’m saving from not having to buy oil. It’s the end of October, I’ve got 20 degrees of heat and permanent hot water.”
“If I’d come in from work and fired up the oil-fired heating, that would go on for an hour and burn probably 3 litres of oil. Then it would feel too hot, I’d turn it off, the house would cool down, and I’d have to turn it on again and burn another 3 litres. So in total that would cost £3 per day. It’s certainly costing less without the oil.”
Clean and Reliable Energy
Aside from the financial and comfort benefits, there’s another big advantage of the switch, being that the system is cleaner and more reliable; “And I don’t have the smell of the oil. When the burner goes, you smell the oil outside because the vent has to vent somewhere. And the oil tank outside, you could smell the oil from there too, whereas that’s all gone now.”
He’s also confident the new system will help him stay powered up, even when the grid goes down in the event of a powercut. “We had around 10 power cuts last year where we couldn’t use the oil, because that was ignited off the electricity. Whereas with this system, I generate my own electricity throughout the day, and if I had batteries I’d be fully self-sufficient. During a power cut, I could use the electricity stored in the battery.”
Making a Difference, One Home at a Time
Stories like Mr. Oliver’s highlight how we help households under the ECO4 scheme to make their homes warmer, more efficient and more affordable to heat. If you’re ready to reduce your energy bills, cut carbon emissions, and make your home more comfortable, find out if you qualify for a free ECO4 grant today by giving us a call on 01554 788766.