Home Energy West Yorkshire advice service launches to save families hundreds of pounds every year

• Families across West Yorkshire are being offered free, trusted advice to make their homes warmer and cheaper to run
• The flagship Home Energy West Yorkshire advice service will provide a single point of information for home energy help
• Households are urged to visit homeenergywestyorks.co.uk to see the options available to them

Families across West Yorkshire are being offered free, trusted advice to make their homes warmer and cheaper to run, thanks to a new advice service launched by Mayor Tracy Brabin today (2 December).

The landmark Home Energy West Yorkshire service will act as a single point of information for homeowners, renters and landlords across Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.

Households are being encouraged to visit homeenergywestyorks.co.uk or call 0808 196 8270 to speak with an energy saving expert.

In a first for West Yorkshire and a major win against the cost of living crisis, up to a million households can now receive impartial and expert advice in how to invest in their homes and reduce their energy bills over the long-term.

With guidance being offered online, over the phone and through community engagement events, people can learn about home improvement measures. The options will range from cavity wall insulation and double-glazed windows to heat pumps and solar panels, and those interested will be referred to trusted suppliers and affordable finance options.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said:

“Today marks the beginning of a home energy revolution here in West Yorkshire.

“By helping people invest in their homes and slash their energy bills, we will save people money and cut carbon emissions over the long-term.

“Our innovative approach has already shown that tough action on the cost of living and the climate crisis go hand in hand, from supporting households to get solar panels and low-interest loans, to retrofitting thousands of social homes.

“I would urge everybody living in the region to visit our Home Energy West Yorkshire website to see how they can benefit from our support to green their homes and cut bills for good.”

The new service brings together and builds on a series of initiatives backed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority which have helped thousands of households to cut their bills and carbon emissions.

These include the Solar Together West Yorkshire group-buying scheme for solar panels, a low-interest loan scheme for households to get the upfront investment they need to upgrade their homes, and a multimillion-pound investment to retrofit thousands of social homes across the region at no cost to tenants.

The launch of Home Energy West Yorkshire comes against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis and national efforts to meet the nation’s climate targets, in part by improving the energy efficiency of millions of homes throughout the country.

The UK Government has said that local leadership will be central to this effort, and the new advice service has received the strong backing of Whitehall and Westminster.

Minister for Energy Consumers Martin McCluskey said:

“Initiatives like these show the crucial part that leaders and authorities across the country are playing in our clean power mission. 

“We are investing billions in our upcoming Warm Homes Plan to make British homes cheaper and cleaner to run, while providing the £150 Warm Home Discount for around 6 million families this winter and taking £150 of costs off energy bills from April to cut the cost of living.

"Home Energy West Yorkshire will build on that national investment, and families across the region will reap the benefits.”

Home Energy West Yorkshire offers a comprehensive online hub, with plain-language guides on questions such as how to cut bills this Winter, which insulation works best for which type of home, and whether a heat pump or solar panels are right for a particular property.

A free “home checker” tool allows residents to enter basic details about their home and receive tailored suggestions and links to schemes and finance options they might be eligible for. For those who prefer to talk to someone, trained advisors are on hand to answer questions over the phone, talk through options, and build a practical plan that fits each household’s individual needs.

Crucially, the advice service is open to everyone, regardless of their income or tenure, with tailored help available for homeowners, landlords, private renters, social housing providers and tenants. The emphasis is on impartiality and trust, with the service delivered on behalf of the Mayor and the five West Yorkshire councils, in partnership with trusted organisations.

The Mayor is urging people to contact the service as early as possible so they can plan improvements ahead of the coldest months of 2026, and make the most of the options available to them, to help them go green and cut their energy bills for good.

The free service is available at www.homeenergywestyorks.co.uk, where people can access a dedicated advice line and request a call back from an energy saving expert. Alternatively, people can call the Home Energy West Yorkshire team directly on 0808 196 8270.

Notes to editors:

Home Energy West Yorkshire launches on the back of clear evidence that people are willing to invest in their homes when they have trusted support.

Through the Solar Together West Yorkshire scheme, hundreds of households have banded together to purchase solar panels, batteries and EV chargers at below-market rates. The first phase of the scheme has now completed, with 645 rooftop solar installations being completed, unlocking 2.57 megawatts of clean, home-grown power to slash bills.

Through the scheme, residents have invested more than £4.5 million into their homes, and are expected to save a total of £400,000 off their energy bills every year, while cutting around 436 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of taking nearly 250 cars off the road.

Solar Together West Yorkshire used a “reverse auction” model in which vetted installers competed to offer the best price. By banding together, groups of households were able to secure deals that were significantly below market-rates, by having the installations all carried out at around the same time, reducing costs for the installer.

Nearly eight in ten customers also chose to add battery storage to their systems, allowing them to store excess energy during the day and then use it to heat their home in the evening. One household in Kirklees reported that they now generate so much clean energy that they are exporting the surplus back to the grid, saving hundreds of pounds off their energy bills.

To help more people follow suit, the Mayor has also launched a low-interest loan programme delivered with social enterprise lender, Lendology. The scheme offers homeowners between £5,000 and £25,000 at a low, fixed interest rate to invest in home improvements such as heat pumps, modern efficient boilers, solar panels and battery storage, double-glazed windows and doors, and cavity wall, loft or roof insulation.

More than £700,000 has already been lent, with repayments spread over manageable periods. The loans are accompanied by advice to help households choose the right measures for them and avoid being ripped off.

This kind of tailored support will now be available to everyone through the new advice service, where trained advisers – who are independent and do not sell products or take commission – will be on hand six days a week to help people work out which improvements are right for both their home and their budget, and point them towards grants, discounts and affordable finance options.

Home Energy West Yorkshire can also help households to find trusted tradespeople to carry out any work, as well as options for paid-for services including detailed home energy plans and project management services.

To support tenants living in social housing, the Combined Authority is also working with local councils and housing providers on a major retrofit push in the region’s social housing sector.

A £70 million package of funding will now see over 5,000 social homes across West Yorkshire upgraded with measures to make their homes warmer and cheaper to run, free of charge. This builds on the more than 4,400 social homes which have already been improved since 2020.

Tenants such as Bradford resident Julie have described the work as lifechanging, reporting that previously draughty, hard-to-heat properties now stay warmer in the Winter and cooler in the Summer, reducing the need to turn the heating on.