Donald’s Story

by

Donald rented a ground floor flat from Fife Council. He was living with Parkinson’s disease and had poor mobility. He was referred to Cosy Kingdom by Fife Council as he was struggling to physically access his prepayment meter to top up and stay on supply. One of our energy advisors’ visited Donald at his home. We discussed his health issues and the impact these had on him. We quickly realised that the meters were not accessible and so understood the struggles he had to keep them topped up.

We called his energy supplier for him and signed him to the Priority Service Register, noting his health issues and low income. To help him manage his energy account we requested smart meters be installed in credit mode and set him up on an affordable direct debit. We also applied for the £150 Warm Home Discount.

We further helped by setting the various heating controls for the central heating to help reduce the amount of gas used, advised to switch off unused electrical appliances and do washing at low temperatures and short cycles where practical.

In addition, we booked the handy service to install thermal curtains in the living room, and fit low energy light bulbs. As the living room and bedroom face south, we advised him to spend as much time as possible in these rooms to maximise his benefit from solar gain.

With the installed smart meters in credit mode, Donald has access to continuous gas and electric and is managing his energy bills better. This also relieved a lot of the stress and worry he was experiencing relating to this.

Having thermal curtains across the living room windows will help reduce heat loss and draughts and help make the living room warmer. The adjusted heating controls should help reduce the amount of gas he needs to use to keep the home comfortable. We expect the advice provided alongside the LED bulbs to reduce his electricity use too.

Donald told us that the advice and support he received helped to improve health and well-being and he was very appreciative of the help and support of Cosy Kingdom. As a result of our support Mr D was able to continue living independently in his own home.

 

Get advice

Cosy Kingdom provides free & impartial energy advice to anyone living within Fife. If you’d like to part and find out how you can save energy at home get in touch to arrange an appointment.

Our energy advisors can be contacted by: