how we help:
Heat Loss, Fuel Poverty and Vulnerability
With energy prices on the rise, fuel poverty, and EPC regulations getting stricter becoming more prevalent across the UK, there has never been a better time to keep utility expenditure across your property portfolio in check. With Resisure’s innovative monitoring platform, we give you the power to assess temperature fluctuations across your property portfolio and act quickly to reduce the impact of insufficient or excessive utility expenditure on your tenants.
Key features
Explore how Resisure can help with heat loss, fuel poverty and vulnerability:
3°C
Study by tado° found that UK households lost heat at a rate of 3°C in five hours compared to a rate of 0.9°C in Norway and 1°C in Germany
1/3
In a typical UK home, up to one third of the heat produced by central heating systems is lost through the roof, walls, floor and windows.
£772
As of March 2024, the average UK electricity bill reached £772.74, and the average UK gas bill came to £853.30, totalling £1,625 per year.
How Resisure Helps Heat Loss, Fuel Poverty, and Vulnerability
Here at Resisure, we understand that heat loss and high utility costs can be substantially damaging not just to your portfolio of properties, but to the daily lives of those living in your homes. That’s why our technology was created - to give property providers the power to monitor data insights to identify tenants living in fuel poverty whilst ensuring the health of their overall portfolio is maintained.
How do we do it?
Resisure’s monitoring platform provides you with real-time insights into your properties environment, with temperature readings taken every 30 minutes. These readings are sent to our data centres and analysed to provide you with a weekly report highlighting key trends in temperature changes, heat loss, damp, mould, air quality levels and more. With our advanced monitoring platform, you can easily identify which properties in your portfolio require immediate attention, giving you the ability to stop potentially damaging problems before they take hold and become irreversible.
For those focused on identifying fuel poverty and vulnerability across their rental properties, Resisure’s innovative monitoring platform is invaluable. Resisure helps you:
- Detect heat loss even when the heating is on during colder months.
- Identify properties where tenants might be in energy poverty, indicated by temperatures consistently below 18°C for a prolonged period of time.
- Determine when updates to insulation are necessary to improve heat retention.
- Determine whether your tenants are using too much energy, especially if you include utilities in your rental charges.
- Gain direct insights into the energy performance of your properties and use this knowledge to make informed decisions.
Fuel Poverty Is on the Rise
Fuel poverty occurs when households can’t afford to heat their homes to a comfortable and healthy temperature. In 2023, 13% of households in England faced this challenge, a figure that mirrors the previous year. According to the National Energy Action (NEA), 5.6 million households are currently affected.
Rising energy prices only compound this issue. As of March 2024, the average UK electricity bill reached £772.74, while the average gas bill hit £853.30, totalling £1,625 per year. While these figures have stabilised since the peak of 2022, the looming 10% price cap increase on domestic energy bills expected in October 2024 threatens to exacerbate the situation, leaving little room for savings.
For landlords and property providers, the most effective way to reduce utility expenditure without compromising comfort is to improve the energy efficiency of properties.
The Impact of Fuel Poverty
Cold homes can exacerbate serious health conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, bronchitis, and asthma, leading to approximately 10,000 deaths annually. Beyond physical health, fuel poverty also has significant mental health repercussions with many tenants being too concerned by the financial burden of utility costs to actually turn on their heating, leading to inadequate living conditions which the NEA has found to result in a higher risk of suicide. Furthermore, Public Health England (PHE) has further highlighted the dangerous overlap between cold homes and conditions like COVID-19, showcasing that fuel poverty is far more than just a financial problem.
For landlords and property providers, these issues can also have financial consequences. An Inside Housing and Inenco survey revealed that half of social landlords are deeply concerned about energy price hikes. For those offering "bills included" tenancies, rising utility costs can erode returns. High utility expenditure often signals that a property requires updates—such as improved insulation or double glazing—to boost energy efficiency.
What Causes Heat Loss?
High utility costs, resulting in fuel poverty, often result from heat loss, where homes fail to retain warmth effectively. But what exactly leads to heat loss?
Walls
Poor wall insulation is the leading cause of heat loss, accounting for 35-45% according to Northern Energy. UK homes typically have either solid or cavity walls. While cavity walls are easier to insulate, solid walls can also be improved with the right insulation.
What Causes Heat Loss?
High utility costs, resulting in fuel poverty, often result from heat loss, where homes fail to retain warmth effectively. But what exactly leads to heat loss?
Floor
The extent of heat loss through the floor depends on the age and construction of your home. In older houses with cellars and stone foundations, floors can account for up to 10% of heat loss.
What Causes Heat Loss?
High utility costs, resulting in fuel poverty, often result from heat loss, where homes fail to retain warmth effectively. But what exactly leads to heat loss?
Roof
If your portfolio consists of apartments with upstairs neighbours, heat loss through the ceiling is minimal. However, uninsulated roofs and attics can contribute to up to 20% of heat loss in a home.
What Causes Heat Loss?
High utility costs, resulting in fuel poverty, often result from heat loss, where homes fail to retain warmth effectively. But what exactly leads to heat loss?
Leaking Appliances
Poorly installed or maintained appliances, including water heaters and dishwashers, are common culprits of water leaks.
Utility Expenditure and Energy Efficiency Standards
High utility costs are a red flag for poor energy efficiency. While the government has delayed raising the minimum EPC standards for rental units, the current requirement remains at an EPC rating of E, with potential future increases to C. Proactively identifying areas in your portfolio where energy efficiency is lacking allows you to make necessary improvements before new legislation takes effect, putting you ahead of the curve.
Energy-efficient properties are not just compliant; they are also more attractive to tenants and can command higher rents. A recent survey found that properties with an EPC rating of A or B can achieve 10% higher rents than those with lower ratings. Addressing factors such as draughts, poor insulation, and outdated windows helps maintain your property’s value and even enhance it over time.
Reduce Heat Loss, Fuel Poverty And Vulnerability With Resisure
At Resisure, we understand that heat loss fuel, poverty and vulnerability can impact both your property portfolio and the well-being of your tenants. That’s why we designed our innovative monitoring platform to empower property providers, giving you the ability to monitor your property's environment across your portfolio for ultimate visibility.
Resisure provides real-time insights into the environment of the property by taking temperature and humidity readings every 30 minutes. These readings are sent back to our data centre every 3 hours for analysis and fed back to within an easy -to-read weekly report or a bespoke online dashboard allowing problematic trends in temperature, humidity, damp, mould, heat loss and air quality to be quickly identified and addressed before they escalate. For landlords aiming to identify fuel poverty and vulnerability, Resisure is essential. Our innovative monitoring platform helps detect heat loss, identify properties where tenants may be in fuel poverty, determine when insulation needs updating, and gain valuable insights into the energy performance of your properties. That’s how Resisure empowers landlords and property providers across the UK to make the most informed, proactive decisions for the health of their property portfolio and safety of their tenants.
Ready To Reduce Heat Loss, Fuel Poverty And Vulnerability Across Your Portfolio?
Join the growing number of property providers who trust Resisure to safeguard their investments and keep tenants safe thanks to our intuitive monitoring platform. Contact us today to learn more about our heat loss, fuel poverty and vulnerability monitoring solutions and how we can tailor them to fit your specific needs.
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