Ways to reduce your footprint - energy

Reducing energy use in your home

Saving you money, increases our energy security, and reduces the carbon emissions that is produced from non-renewable sources of energy.

Having an efficient heating system running on a low carbon fuel is one of the most important steps you can take to reduce your fuel bills and your carbon dioxide emissions. If you want to reduce your carbon emissions and keep your energy bills low, installing insulation or draught-proofing will reduce heat loss. Many energy companies are also introducing programs that encourage using electricity during off-peak hours. These programs then pass the savings onto you.

Visit the Energy Trust to find out more information on how to reduce energy in your home.

Home Decarbonisation Service

Wokingham Borough Council has launched a new Home Decarbonisation Advice Service aimed at supporting residents who want to make their home more energy efficient and potentially reduce their energy bills.

This free service allows residents to contact the council to get practical, impartial advice on the changes they could make to their properties. The service will help residents understand how these changes could improve the energy efficiency of their homes and the potential benefits from carbon emissions to financial savings. Click here for more information Home decarbonisation service

Warm Homes: Local Grant

You could get free energy saving improvements made to your home if you’re on a low income, getting certain benefits or living in a certain postcode area. See the Warm Homes: Local Grant page on the Gov.uk website for eligibility.

Solar Together Scheme

If you are looking to reduce your carbon footprint and save on energy bills, we have partnered with the Solar Together scheme to make it easier and cheaper to install solar panels.

Solar Together enables residents in the Borough to install solar panels and battery storage at a competitive price through pre-vetted suppliers, which in turn will generate green energy, save on energy bills, whilst supporting our ambition for Wokingham Borough to be carbon neutral by 2030.

This scheme is useful for residents who are looking to get more from the renewable energy they generate as well as increasing their independence from the electricity grid.

You can register your interest for free at Solar Together Wokingham

Solar Together Case study

Mike Bushnell first heard about the Solar Together scheme in one of our email updates and is now recommending it to others.

A resident of Earley, Mike has been concerned about the climate emergency for a long time and he is always trying to take practical steps to be more energy efficient. He says solar panels were 'the next logical step' and he had an eight-panel system and a battery pack installed in September 2023, having registered his interest three months earlier.

Mike said: "Overall, I would say the entire process from start to end was very simple. From first signing up to getting all of the paperwork sorted was very smooth. The installation day itself appeared seamless and was very quick.

"Everything apart from the on-site survey and installation was done via email. Not only would I recommend this scheme to others, I already have. You can download an app to keep track of your system's performance, which I have found slightly addictive."

Although he says the time of year for installation was not ideal, there were still some days where he generated more electricity than he used. During September and October, about half of the energy used was generated from the panels.

As the days begin to get longer again, Mike is looking forward to seeing how much more the system will generate and how much money he can save. If you have been inspired by Mike's story, register your interest with Solar Together Wokingham.

Big Community Switch

Heating and powering our homes is expensive, so it is worthwhile trying to find a more affordable energy deal. Big Community Switch helps residents switch energy suppliers, move to a renewable electricity tariff and save money on their energy bills. Switching with Big Community Switch means you can benefit from the bargaining power of a large group.

How does it work?

1. Registration: you can register for free and without obligation at bigcommunityswitch.co.uk

2. Auction: an ‘auction’ will be held so pre-vetted energy suppliers can submit bids. The supplier who offered the cheapest tariff will get to offer you a new contract.

3. Personal offer: you will receive a personal offer, based on your registration details, and you can see how much money you can save.

4. You decide: the decision is then yours as to whether you want to accept your offer. There is no obligation to switch.

5. Take control: if you accept, you will be one of the thousands who have taken control of their energy costs through this collective energy switching scheme.

Find out more

For more information, visit bigcommunityswitch.co.uk, where you can register for the scheme. Please note that this scheme is not run by Wokingham Borough Council, and all enquiries should be directed to the Big Community Switch’s helpdesk online or call 0800 048 8285 (lines open Monday to Friday, 8:00am - 5:30pm).

Help with your energy costs

If you would like information on the help available for energy bills or costs relating to your home visit our Cost of Living support.