James & Olivia live in the Midlands and have two children. They are currently receiving Child Benefit whilst James is working full time in the hospitality industry. They meet the criteria for ECO4 as they receive Child Benefit and their household income, as a couple with two children under 18 is still less than £32,300 combined.
How did you find out about ECO4?
We heard about ECO4 when we were looking to save money on our energy bills – we’d looked quite extensively at options that were available to us, and they all seemed out of our price range. The recent increase in energy bills has affected everyone, and our energy bills have put a bit of a strain on our funds as you’d expect, even though we are quite smart with our energy use.
After a bit of research, we found the ECO4 government scheme which looks to help homes in our situation. We feel like ECO4 experts now we’ve had it and are telling anyone that will listen!
What appealed to you about the ECO4 scheme?
Quite simply – it’s free for us! When we realised the government had this scheme in place we couldn’t believe it – we checked over so many times and ticked all the boxes. We were reassured all the way and after a few questions and checks that we were on our way with our installer. We filled in a form online that asked us a few questions, Honest Quotes called us back to discuss and the ball got rolling.
What are you most excited about with the ECO4 scheme?
It’s all quite exciting really, the fact that we get this for free and quickly is probably, as a parent the most exciting part. It helps us save energy and keep us warmer in the colder nights.
I think the most exciting aspect was finding out that we qualified and in turn finding out we could get an Air Source Heat Pump. We have had some insulation improvements too, but our Gas Boiler was on its last legs and since we’re electricity heated, they installed an Air Source Heat Pump! We couldn’t believe it.
How will the ECO scheme help you?
It’s allowed our home to be a lot more energy efficient. After all the improvements had been installed, we got a new EPC rating for our home which also increases its appeal should we want to sell in a few years’ time when the kids get older.
This is why the ECO4 scheme is here, it improves homes like ours, and that lets us help reach the government promise to fight climate change. We’re in a household that the scheme tailors for so we’re more than happy to be involved.
The Energy Company Obligation is now in its fourth term (ECO4) and has been introduced to support those who live in fuel poor households to make their homes warmer, while reducing both energy bills and carbon emissions. It is scheduled to run until March 2026.
ECO4 has been created by the government to improve the carbon footprint of the least energy-efficient homes in the country, as part of measures to help reach the 2050 net-zero strategy goal.
ECO4 offers a wide range of insulation and heating measures including Air Source Heat Pumps, Insulation, Gas Boiler Upgrades and Solar Panels amongst others – you can find out if you qualify for the ECO4 scheme by clicking here.
