Toasty campaign aims to insulate homes

Toasty campaign aims to insulate homes

A new campaign called Get Me Toasty is set to encourage residents from all across Greater Manchester to install cost-cutting cavity wall and loft insulation in their homes.

The campaign’s mascot - a cartoon character called Mr Toast - made his way across the ten districts of Greater Manchester on January 4th and 5th to meet local authorities and encourage people to sign up for free surveys to see if they qualify for subsidised installations (which can even be cost-free to those in priority groups).

In addition to the clear financial incentives for Manchester residents, the city’ region’s new ‘toasty’ warm houses will help lower the carbon footprint of the city as Greater Manchester strives to become a low carbon economic area. At present 34% of Greater Manchester’s carbon emissions come from the domestic housing sector.There are nearly 530,000 unfilled cavities and underinsulated lofts within Greater Manchester’s houses and the Toasty Manchester campaign hopes to make 75% of these houses energy efficient by 2013. The first part of the campaign launching in early January hopes to result in the insulation of 4500 homes.

Launched by the ten Local Authorities in partnership with the Energy Saving Trust, the high profile regional campaign aims to advise home owners of the low cost of insulation and the savings that can be made on domestic heating bills particularly in the freezing weather.

Michael O'Doherty, lead for Housing Retrofit for Greater Manchester comments: "We need your help to make Greater Manchester toasty! By insulating your home you will be helping us to reach our target of making sure every home is energy efficient. Plus you will be saving yourself some money!"

The Energy Saving Trust is a government funded organisation working across all ten districts of Greater Manchester and manages a network of installers who will carry out work during the Toasty Manchester campaign. A key part of their work is the independent and impartial promotion of home energy efficiency leading residents to a lower carbon lifestyle.

The Toasty Manchester campaign aims to dispel myths that installing cavity wall and loft insulation is a costly and messy process. Recent research conducted by DEFRA in 2009 found that 26% of people surveyed thought that insulations would be too costly whilst 14% had never thought of having it done at all.