December Case Study

Steve and Helen were ready to buy their home. They did the research, viewed the home, made an offer and had moved in by late Summer. Their three-bedroom semi-detached in Worcestershire was perfect and they were ready to start their life together. Then, as the weather turned colder, they discovered that the heating system didn’t actually work. They spent the next few winters freezing in their home, which they dealt with until there was a new addition to the family.

Their first winter as a family of three, Steve and Helen had to send their baby to their parents to keep warm and safe. With Steve’s asthma, he was well aware of the dangers that a cold home could cause, especially for a young child. They knew they needed to get their heating fixed as soon as possible but, with a new heating system costing thousands of pounds, Steve and Helen started looking into ways to reduce the cost.

In August 2025, Steve contacted Act on Energy for support through the ECO Flex scheme. His GP was able to refer him due to his asthma, as this made him particularly vulnerable to cold-related illnesses. Steve spoke to one of our qualified retrofit advisors, Oliver, about his uncertainty around his EPC, his concerns about the lack of heating and about how high his energy bills were over winter as he had to use plug-in heaters. Oliver agreed that the Energy Performance Certificate done prior to his house purchase sounded like it may need amending due to the lack of heating and, when the ECO contractors went round to assess Steve’s home for the funding, they re-assessed his home at a grade F, instead of the D that they were originally told.

The low EPC rating, along with Steve’s health condition, made his home the perfect candidate for ECO Flex. Oliver remained in contact with Steve and Helen as he worked with the contractors to organise land registry checks, install dates, and post-install checks. By mid-November everything had been completed. Steve and Helen had new electric storage heaters to replace the ones that hadn’t worked in years, as well as new solar panels installed to help reduce the cost of electricity even further.

Oliver contacted Steve a couple of weeks after the installation was completed to ensure that everything was working properly and that they were aware of tariff options and how to use their system efficiently. Steve couldn’t thank Oliver enough for his support through the whole process and he was delighted to have a warm home in time for Christmas.

Below is a real quote from “Steve”.

“Oliver thank you for listening and being understanding to our situation regarding not having heating and for supporting us to finally have a warm home during the colder months, it honestly means so much to us and is the best customer service we have ever received. During the entire process your communication with us has been exemplary, you are a true credit to your team and ACT [on Energy], thank you for making this happen!”

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