The cost-of-living across the UK has been on the increase since the start of 2021. Living in a rural community is often associated with additional costs compared to those in urban areas. For example, people living in rural areas are not always connected to the gas grid, often using oil and liquid petroleum gas for heating that are more expensive and not subjected to energy price caps. Moreover, housing in rural areas is generally older, not as well insulated and less energy efficient than houses in urban locations, leading to increased risk of fuel poverty. Home energy advice, energy efficiency measures, and financial support all have the potential to mitigate fuel poverty. The aim of this rapid evidence review was to determine the effectiveness of interventions that make homes warmer and cheaper to heat for households in fuel poverty in rural and remote areas. Fourteen studies and eight sources of grey literature were included in the review. The included studies and grey literature were published between 2007 and 2022. There was some evidence of effectiveness for interventions such as energy efficiency home improvements / retrofitting, home improvements (including replacing lightbulbs and electric heaters, external insulation, heating systems, loft insulation installing central heating), Welsh Government Arbed (home improvement and energy efficiency measures) and Nest (home improvements and advice) interventions, provision of energy and home energy advice, and referral for support and/or insulation measures or home improvements. Interventions such as social energy subsidies might not be effective in reducing fuel poverty, and energy efficient social housing was a more efficient method of alleviating fuel poverty. However, the certainty of the evidence is very low, primarily due to the study design and poor quality of the included studies. Policy makers and funding bodies need to make further investments into research focusing on measures to alleviate fuel poverty, with particular focus on economic analysis. There is a need for high quality, well-developed randomised controlled trials to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency measures and advice. Future research should investigate which interventions are the most effective in what types of housing in rural areas to help the targeting of interventions better.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.