Trading Standards are warning consumers to avoid buying bogus ‘energy saving’ plugs, after receiving more than 200 complaints from people who have invested in the £99 plug-in device.

Claiming to be working with energy companies, fraudsters have been targeting people over the phone, many of whom are elderly and vulnerable, plugging the device which they say can be used to save a whopping 40% on energy bills.

However, following the complaints, the Trading Standards Institute has conducted tests on these so-called energy saving plugs, and not only do they fail to save energy, they also fall short when it comes to satisfying electrical safety standards.

According to trading standards the callers appear very credible and knowledgeable about their targeted customer. Even going so far as to know the name of their energy supplier and, in some cases, their credit or debit card details.

“Consumers are warned not to use the product as they pose a risk of fire and electrocution, and a safety recall has been issued for the items traced so far,” said chief executive of the Trading Standards Institute, Ron Gainsford.

“Unscrupulous criminals are using the rising energy prices as an opportunity to lure cash strapped consumers – elderly people seem to have been deliberately targeted. The number of complaints we are currently dealing with is bound to be only the tip of the iceberg,” he added.

It’s only after people have received the dodgy looking device, complete with a set of instructions in broken English, that they realise they have been had by the scam.

If you think you may have been duped into purchasing one of these energy saving plugs, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or Consumer Direct on 0845 404 0506. You should also get in touch with your bank to stop the debit or credit card transaction.

Householders looking for ways to reduce their energy bills and save money should consider the long term benefits of cavity wall insulation, loft insulation or fitting draught proofing.

A survey published by Carillion Energy Services suggests that around 25 per cent of British households failed to regularly service their boilers.

The survey adds that the potential waste – expressed in economic terms – of neglecting an annual service could be as high as £400 million. Whilst the annual service is necessary for checking the safety of boilers, it can also help to ensure efficient operation. Inefficient boilers can add hundreds of pounds to central heating bills every year.

Vince Barry, the Marketing Manager of Carillion Energy Services Heating, said: “To keep a boiler operating at maximum efficiency you really need to have it serviced once a year. Most manufacturers recommend this and in fact it’s a requirement for most warranties.

“The danger is that with everyone’s personal budget so stretched at the moment people will delay, or even avoid, having their boiler serviced at all and it really isn’t a good idea”.

There is arguably no better time than the summer to have boilers serviced, as this gives households a degree of comfort ahead of the winter. If a service is delayed for a significant period of time or ignored altogether, problems may arise during the coldest months – and at a time when Gas Safe engineers are at their busiest.

Not only can a boiler service or repair in winter cost more, but it can also take longer to arrange. Households can avoid this problem by enjoying discounted rates and convenient scheduling during the summer.

Aside from faults, boilers can also run inefficiently at considerable cost to the homeowner. An energy inefficient boiler can add around £225 per annum to heating bills, so it is in the best interests of households to ensure that inefficient boilers are either serviced or replaced with energy efficient models.

As fuel poverty becomes a greater concern for households throughout the UK, it is inevitable that homeowners will begin to pay greater attention to the servicing of gas boilers. Likewise, tenants ought to request that energy inefficient boilers be replaced by landlords under the ‘green deal’ scheme, which is expected to come into force next year.

An environmentally friendly home in the South East of England has attracted the attention of LABC, an organisation representing “local authority building control departments in England and Wales”.

Robert and Gillian Schifreen built the property within two years of Gillian spotting a derelict bungalow on her way to work. After tracking the owner, Gillian purchased the plot of land and commissioned Michael Hall, a local architect, to work alongside her to design and build the house.

Robert, meanwhile, put his computing expertise to good use by designing a central computer system for the property, which comprises no fewer than 24 ethernet access points in preparation for a future of high-speed internet connectivity.

What is remarkable about Gillian and Robert’s self-build, aside from the fact that it looks relatively normal and has been future-proofed, is that it does not feature a central heating system of any kind.

Built with Structurally Insulated Panels, Holly House, as it has been named, boasts triple glazing, good insulation and an advanced ventilation system that runs underground and ensures the home maintains a comfortable temperature of approximately 18 degrees centigrade – regardless of the weather conditions outside. A wood-burning stove in the central living area provides the only source of direct heat.

The house also features solar panels (12 square metres in total), which heat substantial quantities of water during the spring and summer months; in fact, the Schifreens’ new home heats so much water during the summer that a swimming pool had to be installed to utilise the excess. Holly House also features energy saving LED lighting, an induction hob and mechanical heat recovery system.

Explaining why the home does not include solar PV panels for generating green electricity, Gillian said: “I had to do about two years of research to put together all the systems which we included in the build. We had hoped to include solar PV to provide electricity, but for various reasons we couldn’t go ahead. However, we are hoping to have a ground mounted array in the near future”.

Gillian and Robert’s self-build is so impressive that LABC has shortlisted the building for the Best Technical Development in the South East award.

As Britain prepares to welcome first-generation smart meters on a nationwide scale, concern has mounted over the security of the devices.

According to security experts, smart meters may be compromised by hackers for a variety of reasons; furthermore, those doing the hacking may not be especially adept at computing, as freely available tools are likely to be adapted to exploit the energy monitoring equipment.

Many people might wonder why anyone would want to hack a domestic smart meter – are the potential benefits of doing so really that great? The answer, unfortunately, is that gaining control over smart meters offers potentially enormous financial rewards.

Senior Analyst, Alex Desbarres, of Datamonitor, explained: “A meter that provides numerous interval reads provides a utility with a great deal of commercially valuable information about how and when consumers use their energy. That really opens the relationship between the utilities and their clients to potential abuse”.

Meanwhile, Joshua Pennell, the Executive Director of internet security firm, IOActive, suggested that vulnerabilities could be exploited for more malicious purposes, such as causing disruption to power networks. Dean Keeling, of Centrica, added that British Gas took the security of its smart meters very seriously, stating: “We have a full-time internal team engaged in stress-testing”.

If smart meters installed in domestic properties are exploited by hackers, critical information pertaining to consumers could be sold to external sources. Energy companies could also exploit such data by monitoring the usage trends of consumers to formulate more profitable tariffs.

Concern over the issue of smart meter safety is only likely to increase until operators convince analysts and consumers that sufficient steps have been taken to secure data. Encrypting information – a measure apparently employed by BT – is arguably the minimum standard of protection that consumers ought to expect under existing data and privacy laws.

Despite the threat of security flaws, smart meters are likely to improve the way in which households consume energy. Armed with sufficient information, the average consumer can make informed choices about his energy consumption. When coupled with other energy-saving measures, such as loft insulation and double glazing, smart meters could also reduce the carbon footprint of homes across the UK.

One of the UK’s largest domestic heating manufacturers has expressed that the Government’s much anticipated Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) has left more questions than it has given answers.

Plans for the RHI incentive were unveiled by Energy Secretary Chris Huhne on Thursday.

Neil Schofield, head of government and external affairs at Worcester, Bosch Group commented: “We welcome any initiative that attempts to bring the benefits of renewable heat generation to greater numbers of people, but the announcement focuses very firmly on the industrial, commercial and public sectors.

“There are a number of questions yet to be answered for the domestic sector which leaves the picture confused.”

He continued: “The fact that mainstream households will not be able to access RHI until October 2012 has led the Government to try and bridge the gap with the RHI Premium Payment, but we will not get details on this until May 2011.

“My take on it is that there is going to be some sort of grant subsidy made available for those who want to install now.

“In particular, the information on payments is vague as is the criteria by which a property will be deemed to be of sufficient standard to qualify for the RHI.

“My suspicion is that it will be Band D properties and above, but we need more information.

“The RHI, as it stands, appears to be focused on non-domestic heating, early adopters and those off the mains gas network, which leaves questions about how we will encourage mass uptake.

“In summation, whilst we welcome this it does not feel like a game-changer.”

The UK’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) will not be launched until October 2012, it has been revealed.

Further details of the scheme have today been published, confirming that technologies such as solar thermal and ground source heat pumps are qualified by the scheme.

The launch of the scheme was originally pitched for April, and then June 2011. It has now been pushed back further to coincide with the Government’s Green Deal.

According to Government figures, the £860m scheme expects to increase green capital investment by £4.5 billion up to 2020, stimulating a new market in renewable heating.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, who launched the RHI, said: “Renewable heat is a largely untapped resource and an important new green industry of the future.

“This incentive is the first of its kind in the world.  It’ll help the UK shift away from fossil fuel, reducing carbon emissions and encouraging innovation, jobs and growth in new advanced technologies.”

Currently around half of the UK’s carbon emissions come from the energy used to produce heat – more than from generating electricity. The RHI will reduce emissions by 44 million tonnes of carbon to 2020, equivalent to the annual carbon emitted by 20 typical new gas power stations.

Industry, commercial and public sectors will be eligible under the RHI to install technologies like biomass boilers, heat pumps and solar thermal. Community projects will also be eligible, provided a single installation is generating heat to more than one house.

Tariffs will be paid for 20 years to eligible technologies that have been installed since July 15, 2009 with payments being made for each kWh of renewable heat which is produced.

Tariff payments will start for homes alongside the Green Deal from 2012.

In the meantime, up to 25,000 installations from July will be supported by a new ‘RHI Premium Payment’ to help people cover the purchase price of green heating systems. Those taking up the premium will then be eligible for a RHI tariff from October 2012 when the Green Deal begins, as will anyone else who has had eligible equipment installed from July 2009.

The RHI Premium Payment will be worth around £15m and will ensure there is “a fair spread of technologies across all regions of Great Britain”.

There will be clear eligibility criteria in order to qualify for a Premium payment, including:

• A well insulated home based on its energy performance certificate
• Agreeing to give feedback on how the equipment performs

The Government is expected to publish details of the RHI Premium Payment and how this will apply in May. Consultations on the RHI tariffs that will apply from October 2012 will be carried out later in the year.

Birmingham City Council has revealed that it will be investing a further £57.8 million to help keep residents warm.

The large investment will be used later this year to aid central heating in council properties in the city. It is hoped that additional heating installations will contribute to a better quality of life for residents.

Since 2004, 22,000 properties have benefited from improved heating and insulation measures arranged by the council. This includes 28,800 new windows with investment in modern facilities totaling £700 million.

Council properties in Birmingham appear to be relatively well kept with 99 per cent meeting the decent homes standard. This majority made Birmingham City one of the only councils to achieve a decent homes standard of above 95 per cent, the Government’s target.

As part of the new cash injection, tenants will this year be supported by prioritisation of central heating and double-glazed windows in homes. The scheme is being run through the local Housing Liaison Boards (HLBs).

Improved domestic heating, double glazing, cavity wall and loft insulation, greatly improves the thermal efficiency of properties.

The cold December weather has resulted in HomeServe experiencing a surge in customers.

The home heating repairs and insurance service, HomeServe, has revealed a two per cent boost in customers in December compared to the year before. HomeServe believes the rise is down to more households seeking protection against boiler failures and burst pipes.

Two new campaigns have been launched by the solar industry – ‘We Support Solar’ and ‘Power to Society’ – in a bid to encourage the UK Government to reconsider its decision to review the support provided to medium and large solar installations through the Feed-In Tariff (FIT).

We Support Solar, backed by companies including Sharp and Solarcentury, called on the energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne to cancel the review of solar incentives, which has been fast-tracked as a matter of priority. The campaign also launched a petition with the same objective.

In an open letter to Mr Huhne, the campaigners wrote: “The shock decision to launch a ‘fast-track’ review for all PV down to the size of small community and business installations has caused chaos in key parts of the sector. Your announcement has halted investment in many projects over 50kW including ‘Big Society’ community schemes of the type we thought the Government was particularly keen to support.”

Meanwhile, the Power to Society campaign has launched a similar petition that calls for the dropping of the fast-track review and protection of solar schemes in the community. The petition is aimed at landowners and ordinary members of the public.

Mark Shorrock, chief executive of Low Carbon Solar, a supporter of the campaign, said: “In pulling back on a commitment to support solar energy, the Government will cause the abandonment of scores of ‘Big Society’ community-owned schemes and hundreds of other developments that could have seen individual parishes benefit from up to £25,000 every year and more local jobs created.

“The ill-conceived and dangerously short-sighted proposals will have further unintended consequences, including the Government missing a European target of generating 30 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2020 and therefore incurring significant fines.”

On the domestic front, solar photovoltaic panels can be used to generate green electricity for use in the home. Any additional capacity can be exported to the National Grid under the FIT scheme. The Government is adamant that support for larger solar installations (over 50kW) must end in order to ensure that funding worth £360 million does not dry up for smaller FIT projects.

A home energy grant to get more people using efficient heating systems is being run.

The Home Energy Saving Grant is being delivered by A1 Low Carbon Solutions (LCS) on behalf of the energy provider npower.

The scheme offers homeowners various levels of grant funding for fuel switching to a more efficient central heating system.

Fuel switching relates to the changing of the primary heating fuel of your home. A primary heating fuel is the fuel which is used to heat your main living area such as your lounge or living room.

The amount of grant funding is determined by both your existing heating and the heating type which you have installed. Funding is available through heating installers who are registered with LCS. Eligible boiler brands include Baxi, Glow worm, Grant UK, Sime and Vokera to name a few.

The standard level of funding applies to all privately owned domestic properties and a higher level of funding is available to customers who are aged 70 or above or in receipt of certain benefits.

Eligible benefits are:

• Council Tax Benefit
• Housing Benefit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income Support
• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• War Disablement Pension which includes either a Mobility Supplement or Constant Attendance Allowance
• Disablement Pension which includes Constant Attendance Allowance
• State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit where the relevant annual income is £16,190 or less
• Working Tax Credit where the relevant annual income is £16,190 or less

A1 LCS is operated nationwide and works with more than 10,000 registered installers.

The award-wining scheme was first set up in 2003.

To visit the official A1 LCS website, click here.