January 30th, 2012 | 
Author: Science of Energy ( SoE ) Educational material is now available for download on our website in the “Education Resources” section
Posted in 
FREE INSULATION? HOW DOES THAT WORK THEN?
With the recent increase in Gas and Electricity prices it is hard to imagine a better time to launch the Universal Home Insulation Scheme in areas of Oban, Dunoon and Helensburgh. This innovative scheme brought to you by The Scottish Government, Argyll and Bute Council, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), Energy Saving Scotland advice centre Highlands and Islands and your local energy charity ALIenergy will be rolling out over the next few months. Look out for a letter dropping onto your doormat from Argyll and Bute Council explaining how this affects you, what will happen next and the timeframes involved.
The Universal Home Insulation Scheme (or UHIS) means free insulation for homeowners and private sector tenants. This could be Loft, Cavity Wall or in some cases Internal Solid Wall Insulation and Draught Proofing, saving you hundreds of pounds off your energy bills each year
This scheme only covers certain parts of Oban, Dunoon and Helensburgh – 4500 proper ties are identified for inclusion in the three areas but not all properties will be suitable for the insulation measures on offer. You will know if your street is included in the scheme if a letter from Argyll and Bute Council comes through your letterbox inviting you to join in. If you do receive a letter, you don’t need to do anything; an ALIenergy Home Assessor will call at your home and take you through the very simple process. Don’t worry; we will visit at least three different times until we catch you in.
In the past, when these schemes have been rolled out in a UHIS area there has been a flurry of activity from privately owned insulation companies who will call to offer you insulation that is not free and that you will have to pay for. This will probably happen in the Oban, Dunoon and Helensburgh areas over the coming months.
Don’t get confused, check the details; UHIS only has one installer, BCA Insulation, working on the scheme and this official UHIS installer will NOT cold call; you will only see the UHIS installer when you make an appointment through an ALIenergy Home Assessor and after the Assessor has completed a home energy survey for your property.
The key things to remember for now are;
1. The name of the scheme; Universal Home Insulation Scheme or UHIS,
2. A letter from Argyll and Bute Council
3. A visit from ALIenergy.
There will be regular updates in the Local press and here on the ALIenergy website so watch out for these too.
In an effort to improve ALIenergy’s service to the communities in Argyll, Staff and Volunteers took part in a Renewable Energy City and Guilds Course in Inveraray this week.
The Accredited Training covered all aspects of Renewable Energy including Solar Thermal, Solar PV (Photo-Voltaic), Ground, Air and Water heat source technologies, Biomass and Wind Turbine. The course also included info on funding bodies who provide grants and loans to enable Householders and Community groups to install any of the above renewable technology.
This qualification builds on the comprehensive training on energy efficiency and renewable energy that our staff have already undertaken and was scheduled as part of ALIenergy’s ongoing programme of staff development and training.
Advice from ALIenergy is free
If you wish any Info on the above technologies Please Visit our website at www.alienergy.org.uk or call on 01631-565-183