Manchester Retrofit Action Week kicked off on Saturday, with an exhibition focusing on home energy efficiency being held in the city on 13th and 14th October.
The Home Upgrade Show, sponsored by British Gas, will bring together more than 50 exhibitors and experts to provide local residents with advice on how to make their home more energy efficient.
The free-to-attend event follows shocking research linking cold homes with long-term health conditions.
Public Health England found that 21.5% of all excess winter deaths are attributable to the coldest quarter of housing.
A study by Sheffield Hallam University in July found that providing warmer homes “on prescription” could prevent excess winter deaths and reduce pressure on the NHS.
And with soaring energy prices, retrofitting homes could save consumers money, too.
The founder of Low Carbon Homes, Graham Lock, said: “When the need for reducing energy use combines with the cost-of-living crisis and a struggling NHS, and the answer that ticks all those boxes is retrofitting homes for energy efficiency, home retrofit is an open goal for ensuring that the taxpayer’s pound works twice as hard and benefits more people.”
Greater Manchester Combined Authority has invested more than £113m in retrofitting 6,000 social homes across the region.
A £2m programme has also been launched to provide in-person energy advice to those who may not otherwise receive it.
