Looking through a dark window frame to a mother and son sat at a table lit with a hanging lamp

The energy crisis and the solution for warm homes

Why have our energy bills risen?

Since early 2022, more and more of us are struggling to cope with rising energy bills. Some people living in poorly-insulated homes are hit harder, with energy use and bills higher than average. And with most of our home heating coming from gas, we're adding to the climate crisis.

So why are our bills so high and what's the solution for warmer homes and lower emissions?

Gas Hob

Suffering from cold

A new report, commissioned by Friends of the Earth and produced by the Institute of Health Equity, has revealed the terrible cost of Britain's cold homes on people's physical and mental health. As reported by the Guardian, almost 10 million UK households are living in poorly insulated homes and likely can't afford improvements.

Find out how millions are being left out in the cold and what solutions are urgently needed, including a national insulation programme.

Cold father and daughter wrapped up in blankets on their sofa by a radiator

We need a nationwide insulation programme to ensure warm homes for all

Ask your MP to pledge for warm homes

What is fuel poverty and who's hit hardest?

If your energy bill was 40% of your monthly income, how much would you have left?

Use our calculator to see what different levels of fuel poverty would look like for you. And then see how many people are paying 10%, 20% or more of their income on energy bills and the kind of households they live in.

A hand holding an energy bill

Living in the coldest neighbourhoods

We've found the coldest neighbourhoods in England and Wales. Homes in these areas are hardest to heat due to poor insulation, which makes energy use and bills higher than average, and where most people are living on low incomes.

Our thermal images captured people in their homes trying to keep warm. People here told us their stories and the solutions they can see we need to help all of us have warmer homes.

A man lies on a sofa holding a hot water bottle which glows as yellow on the thermal image.

How to solve the energy crisis

There's a way to get out of the energy crisis, and secure warmer homes and cheaper energy across the UK. What's more, the solutions will help lower emissions and avoid further climate breakdown.

Find out the 3 keys to ending the crisis.

Man at home about to climb up a stepladder and install loft insulation

We need a nationwide insulation programme to ensure warm homes for all

Ask your MP to pledge for warm homes

Ways to keep warm

We’ve put together energy-saving tips that you can act on now while we press the government to do more to address the energy crises.

Our guide to home insulation and heating explains things like cavity wall insulation and how heat pumps work. And we show you how long it takes for the savings to cover the costs.

Person wearing fingerless gloves and a thick jumper, heating their hands over a radiator
A collection of people within the silhouette of a warm home

Community action

Across England and Wales Friends of the Earth is powering a grassroots movement, bringing together people worried about rising bills and the health effects of the cold, people who want to improve renters' rights, and people concerned about the climate crisis. Different groups that are united by a common goal - warm homes that don't cost the earth.

The driving belief behind our groups is that when we come together, we become a force too powerful to be ignored, United for Warm Homes.

If you want to see warm homes for all, join our campaign.

A collection of people within the silhouette of a warm home