As fuel prices increase this winter fuel poverty is also likely to be on the increase. This occurs when a household needs to spend more than 10 per cent of its disposable income on energy used to heat the home adequately.

WITH gas and electricity costs set to rise even higher this winter and the government committed to reducing carbon emissions by 34 per cent by 2020, Ely entrepreneurs Peter Dawe and Peter Bates, have risen to the challenge of reducing energy costs and carbon emissions, by throwing down the gauntlet to Cambridgeshire households.

They have set up a new company called The 80percent Company to research and develop new energy saving solutions for homes and other buildings. Focusing initially on heat loss from windows, they are looking for people who would be willing to allow them into their homes to gain an understanding of the where heat loss occurs – particularly those houses that have single-glazed windows.

Peter Dawe has founded more than 80 companies including Pipex the UK’s first commercial Internet service provider. He has teamed up with Peter Bates, who has more than 20 year’s experience of working with innovative solutions.

Home energy use in the UK is currently responsible for producing 27 per cent of all carbon emissions. There can be 15-25 per cent heat loss from windows. The 80Percent Company is developing solutions that tackle this problem for all households, but particularly for older dwellings in conservation areas where it might not be considered appropriate to replace with double glazing.

This is backed-up by a recent English Heritage report that has questioned the need for large scale window replacement, particularly for older Victorian and Georgian windows, that are very durable, compared to modern windows - that might last only 20 years. Although English Heritage supports national and global efforts for energy conservation and greenhouse emission, this report concluded that there are major opportunities for improving the thermal performance by relatively simple methods.

“This can only be achieved by taking a multi-visionary approach by addressing both the sources of emissions and a reduction of carbon-based energy resources through their more efficient usage,” said Mr Dawe.

As fuel prices increase this winter fuel poverty is also likely to be on the increase. This occurs when a household needs to spend more than 10 per cent of its disposable income on energy used to heat the home adequately.

“Therefore, creative ways will also need to be found to reduce fuel poverty”, says Peter Bates.

INFO: If you are willing to take part in this project, telephone 01353 667973 or email peter@the80percentcompany.com You can also follow developments on our blog at http://www.the80percentcompany.com or twitter @the80percentcom