23-05-2025
‘I got a £30k energy grant for having asthma'
Jane Bee has suffered with asthma since she was in her 20s. Now in her 70s, she has spent a lifetime using inhalers and steroids to keep it at bay, not helped by her 17th century home in Hamsterley village, Durham.
However, since more than £30,000 worth of eco upgrades were made to the property last year, her condition has improved 'significantly' as the cold and damp has subsided. The best part – all of the work was free.
Through her neighbours in the village, Mrs Bee and her husband Alan had heard of ECO4, the scheme that upgrades the energy efficiency of properties for no charge.
Launched in 2013, the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) was initially only open to low income households or those in receipt of benefits living in homes with an EPC rating of D or less. But in 2022, access was expanded to include those with a medical condition that makes them vulnerable to the effects of living in a cold home.
Examples of common conditions that make you eligible for the free upgrade include arthritis, high blood pressure, severe eczema and diabetes, according to advice website Energy Saving Genie.
It is part of the Government's target to make the UK net zero by 2050, and aims to reduce fuel poverty and energy bills in the long-term, as well as reducing carbon emissions.
The change in eligibility conditions meant that as a lifelong asthma sufferer, Jane could apply for a suite of upgrades to their four-bedroom detached home that had an EPC rating of E.
'We'd been living in the property freezing for 49 years, it was just so cold. So when we got the chance to go for this, we thought it was silly not to,' says Mrs Bee, a former lecturer at Durham University. 'The house first changed hands in 1730 so we don't actually know how old it is.'
She sorted the application and work started in late October last year.
'They insulated the house, so any outside wall had another four inches added. They also put in new radiators in every room and added new ones where we didn't have them before. They added in the air source heat pump outside and then the boiler inside which is huge.'
In addition, the house was fitted with solar panels, and the couple opted to pay for batteries to store any excess energy they create.
Aside from the storage that cost £3,800, the only other element the Bees paid for was a shower as their old model no longer worked with the new system, costing around £400. However, Mrs Bee estimates the overall value of the work they had done is worth more than £30,000.
'As you can imagine we are nice and cosy now,' she says.
However, while the work was free, the couple's energy bills have risen substantially. Before the changes, energy bills over the winter of 2023 ranged from £62 a month to £119, yet this winter, they hit an eye watering £409 in January before dropping gradually to £134 in April.
The hope now is that they will continue to fall over the summer months, evening out the cost across the year. In addition, the solar panels generate enough electricity that the property can export it out, which over time should also reduce the bills.
Over 2.5 million homes have received upgrades under ECO, the retrofit scheme which is now in its fourth iteration. This total comprises more than four million individual measures including biomass boilers and loft insulation.
The scheme is mandated by the Government as part of a drive towards better energy efficiency and the country's net zero target by 2050. However, it is funded by energy companies, meaning that it is ultimately energy bill payers who foot the cost.
ECO4 is worth £1bn per year over the four-year scheme up to March 2026. However, it is running ahead of its budget – with a total spend of £3.7bn between April 2022 and December 2024.
Under the current energy price cap, the scheme adds around £59 (around 3pc) to the typical household's bill, equating to around £1.5bn of total cost for households, according to Energy UK.
It is not without its issues. In January this year, the Government announced it was taking action against contractors who had installed poor-quality wall insulation under the scheme.
In addition, Trustmark, the independent body, discovered problems with retrofits under ECO including missing paperwork, wall insulation issues and insufficient ventilation. There is now a remediation programme in action under regulator Ofgem to fix all properties with deficiencies as a result of work under the scheme.
Despite their bills rising, Mr and Mrs Bee say they aren't bothered by the costs. Before the upgrades, heating oil was costing them close to £1,000 annually in addition to £110 on logs and £25 a week on coal between October and March – half the year.
The result was around £140 a month extra if the winter costs were spread over the year.
'We only had the oil central heating on for four hours a day. If we'd had it on all the time (like the air source heat pump is now), it would have cost a small fortune,' Mrs Bee says.
'We are so grateful to the people who made it happen. Yes, it has probably proved more expensive, but we would have had to spend more to keep warm anyway.'
A spokesman for Octopus said: 'Because they switched from oil heating to electric, their electric usage and subsequently their electricity bill has increased. Please note that this also means they don't have to pay for oil any more.
'The solar panels installed by Alan and Jane were connected on March 23 2025. While they wouldn't have seen any benefit from them during the most recent winter period, we can see they've already made over £41 back between March 23 and May 3, which is great news.'
