'Mr Lightbulb' switches residents on to 'green' savings » Housing » 24dash.com

Housing provider Derwent Living is switching onto being green – by giving thousands of its residents energy saving bulbs fitted by their own Mr Lightbulb.

Mr Lightbulb, the Environmental Lighting Officer (ELO) Trevor Price, is visiting thousands of properties to change old lightbulbs over to energy saving ones, in the Derbyshire housing provider’s bid to help tackle climate change.

The Derwent Living initiative has been launched at the same time as the Housing Corporation is linking with UK housing associations to distribute energy saving bulbs. But Derwent Living is going one step further – by providing bulbs, and fitting them.

A single energy saving light bulb can save an average of £9 a year, so if each Derwent Living home has eight lights, it will make a total saving for customers of £720,000 per year.

New recruit Trevor, 52, who works part-time on a fixed-term contract, started making appointments with residents this month – and says there’s been a good take up for the offer so far. He also gives advice on heating and other ways to save energy consumption and expense in the household and has a stock of recycling bags.

He said: “Often what happens is people are given these light bulbs and they leave them in a drawer, or only fit them in the living room. I can re-fit the lights they might have missed in cupboards, bathroom and the kitchen. People have been very glad to see me so far, which is nice, especially the older residents.”

Lower wattage energy saving light bulbs use up to 80% less electricity than a standard bulb, last up to 15 times longer but produce the same amount of light.

Mitch Allseybrook, community development manager at Derwent Living, said: “We all know we should do our bit for the planet, so we thought we’d give our customers a helping hand to change over to energy efficient lighting.

"When you look at the fact it could save almost three quarters of a million pounds over a year, you realise just how good an idea it is to use greener light bulbs, both for the planet and our pockets.”

Social housing experiences the largest proportionate increases in fuel poverty with rising fuel prices, due to low incomes. But it experiences the largest proportionate decreases in fuel poverty after energy efficiency improvements.