Homes that are unable to keep in heat could worsen a crisis which will see people “die this winter”, a charity boss has warned.

The chief executive of Energy Action Scotland (EAS), Frazer Scott, said the energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes is “not improving fast enough”.

Just under half of the dwellings in Scotland do not meet energy efficiency standards of an EPC rating of C or above, according to the latest available Scottish House Condition Survey.

“Households out there right now are absolutely struggling, and people will die this winter in cold, damp homes, as a consequence of being unable to afford to heat them and that will be made worse by people living in poor-quality homes with underlying health conditions,” Mr Scott said.

The non-profit organisation campaigns to end fuel poverty and Mr Scott emphasised that energy efficiency is a “major” contributor to fuel poverty, alongside rising bills and lower incomes.

“Our housing is not of good enough standard that we are resilient enough in the face of high energy costs,” he added.

“When energy prices rise, they have a much more dramatic effect on the lowest income households – that’s combined with the circumstances that lower income households may find themselves in.”

He said a “significant investment” was required into upgrading homes across the country as well a push in support for households “to incentivize that change”.  

'I can't heat my home at all'

 

For Rebecca Sellar, 30, poor insulation in her council housing has led her to fear she will not be able to “afford to survive winter at the rate she is shelling out money”.

In her case, the core issue causing her home to leak heat has been a temporary "ill-fitted" front door – which she had been promised would be replaced since she moved in eight months ago.

Despite seeing a similar door “booted in” outside her Edinburgh home, the insulation issues have now become the “most worrying” problem.

“I can’t heat the home at all,” she said.  “I will put the heating on and it will stay maybe warm for the time I have it on but as soon as it’s off, it gets cold so fast.”

Speaking on the security issue of the door, Ms Sellar said: “I felt pretty vulnerable because it’s obvious that it’s not a proper door.

“Security wasn’t hammering away at my income, in some ways I felt like I could put up with that, but I can’t survive shelling out and being cold in the home all the time.”

The 30-year-old works as a tennis coach and inspires others as an amputee football star, but the cold triggers circulation issues which can make it “very painful” for her to move around.

She has been forced to “ration” her energy and fears the money provided as cost-of-living support by the UK Government could run out in less than a month.

“My income is not enough to cover it right now,” she said. “All of the money for my electricity and gas is coming out of my savings.”

To keep warm, alongside constant thick layers and blankets, she turns on an electric heater for the bare minimum amount of time to keep herself and her two pets warm.

“The electric heater only goes here for a quick buzz,” she said. Yet, Ms Sellar feels forgotten about by the City of Edinburgh Council.

She said: “There are no answers, nobody's coming back on it, it just feels like I'm lost in the system somewhere.”

The council told the Herald they are expecting to have a contractor in place to “undertake a programme of high-quality door replacements” will be in place next year.

Cllr Jane Meagher, housing, homelessness and fair work convener, said: “We want our tenants to live in warm, secure, energy-efficient homes so I’m concerned to hear about the issues Ms Sellar has been facing.

“We are in the process of securing a contractor to undertake a programme of high-quality door replacements which we expect to be in place early next year.

“In the meantime, I’ve been assured that officers will arrange to visit to make improvements to the draught-proofing of the existing door.”

Triage for solutions, but more ambition needed

 

EAS also urged for a “triage-type” solution to assist the most vulnerable households for whom Mr Scott believes we “should be doing so much more”.

As we enter the winter months, he suggested these homes should be inspected and triaged based on priority and the simple changes that could help them in the short-term.

He said: “It’s about making the best of a terrible, terrible situation.

“Anything that can maximize the value in terms of heat and comfort that a person can get for their pound is going to be important, such as the simple things like draught exclusions.”

“Someone should be at their door with the solution to lift the standards of their home as quickly as possible.”

“The question is how serious we are about improving the quality of homes when budgets are going underspent and there are still barriers to the adoption of insulation.

“I am concerned that we do not have all the right things happening at the right pace.”

'People are genuinely frightened'

 

Labour MSP Alex Rowley wants to see Scotland leading with its own version of Passivhaus – fully energy-efficient building standards.

“People are genuinely frightened this winter, frightened of the energy costs,” he said.

“We live in a cold country and we have such ineffective housing. The impact that poor quality housing can have on people’s health is absolutely incredible.”

“These were the things that the Scottish Parliament was created for it was to tackle these issues that Scotland faces and some 20-odd years we still haven’t done enough.”

He believes this will "future-proof" the country, both protecting those in fuel poverty as well as serving pro-active solution to climate change.

His Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill would force all new-build properties to meet the Passivhaus standards.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the enormous pressure that many households are facing right now. We are making sure that anyone worried about or struggling to pay their energy bills can get the right support and advice.

“We have doubled our Fuel Insecurity Fund to £20 million this year, while our Home Energy Scotland service, delivered by the Energy Saving Trust, has increased capacity and provides free and impartial advice, support and funding to help households in Scotland to better insulate their homes saving on energy costs while at the same time reducing their impact on the environment.

“We know that short-term support must go hand-in-hand with longer-term action to make our homes warmer, greener and more efficient and we are investing at least £1.8 billion over the course of this parliament to support this. Within this, we have allocated £119m in 2022-23 to our Warmer Homes Scotland programme and local authority Area Based Schemes to support those least able to pay.

“Our Heat in Buildings Strategy, published last year, set out our plans to transform both new and existing homes and buildings – making them more efficient, climate-friendly and cheaper to heat.”