For many of us ‘back to school' signs and the onset of autumn require a mental readjustment.  For a lot of people, however, the approach of darker, colder days brings with it a much more significant sense of dread.  The number of people who find it difficult to heat their home remains stubbornly high – at the last count more than 4 million households across the UK[1].  Although long-term trends are heading in the right direction, this is a shocking statistic.

Fuel poverty doesn't hit the headlines in the same way as other forms of hardship, but can have equally tragic consequences as people are forced to choose between eating and heating or pushed into debt to fund their essential energy needs.  National Energy Action estimates that 8,500 people died in the winter months of 2019/20 as a direct consequence of having a cold home[2].  Figures for the ‘COVID winter' of 2020/21 are likely to be higher.