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Cold Homes Kill More People Than Alcohol, Road Accidents Or Drug Abuse, Research Claims

This 'Mundane' Problem Kills More Than Drugs, Fires And Road Accidents Combined
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HuffPost UK

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Living in a home that is too cold kills more people in England and Wales than road accidents, alcohol or drug abuse, new analysis has found.

The number of “cold homes” deaths in 2013 has been estimated at 7,400; nearly five times higher than deaths from road and road accidents (1,574), and more than carbon monoxide, fire and assault deaths combined.

It was also slightly more than the number who died from alcohol abuse (7,059).

Cold homes have killed 46,700 people in the UK last five years, the research from the Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) revealed using official data.

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Poor heating can cause lung disease, asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia

A group of over 200 organisations backing the fuel poverty campaign Energy Bill Revolution are calling on the government to tackle this “silent killer” by spending more on energy efficiency in homes.

Its recent video, a spoof of ‘Let It Go’ from Disney’s Frozen called ‘Let Them Freeze’, went viral in February.

The research used Office of National Statistics (ONS), National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency information.

To calculate the number of cold homes deaths – which is not broken down separately - the research used the figure of 30% of all excess winter deaths, a measure recommended for Europe by the World Health Organisation.

Over 44,000 people have signed a petition on campaign site Avaaz which will be delivered to George Osborne, Ed Balls and Danny Alexander today, demanding that all parties use infrastructure funds to invest in home energy efficiency in their manifestos for the general election.

Sam Barratt, Campaign Director of Avaaz said: "David Cameron may think insulating homes is 'green crap', but having a warm home can be the difference between life and death for the most vulnerable in our society. It really is a disgrace that only Estonia has worse fuel poverty than Britain in Europe."

Selected causes of death in 2013, England and Wales using ONS data

(cold homes extrapolated from excess winter deaths data)

Air travel accidents 18

Carbon monoxide 197

Fire 246

Assault 309

Road and rail accidents 1,574

Drug misuse 1,947

Motor neuron disease 2,170

Skin cancer 2,641

Brain cancer 3,567

Parkinson's disease 4,518

Related to alcohol 7,059

Related to cold homes 7,400

Prostate cancer 9,726

Breast cancer 10,230

The new figures also estimate that this winter (2014/15) was the deadliest of the last five years: there are thought to have been two thirds more cold homes deaths than average.

Party manifestos should be published this week, and the campaign urges political parties not to repeat the failures of the coalition government, which, it says, include cutting schemes that aimed to help people with energy bills, such as the Energy Companies Obligation and the Warm Front scheme.

The most effective way to bring down energy bills is to install energy efficiency measures that can save a household more than £400 per year, the campaign claims – yet the amount of support for energy efficiency to people having problems paying for heating has plummeted 80% in the last two years.

Ed Matthew, director of the Energy Bill Revolution, said: “Cold homes are one of the most deadly killers in Britain today, but this silent menace is too often ignored because it happens behind closed doors. The evidence shows that insulation support for the fuel poor has plummeted through the floor during this Parliament. The Government must step up and put a stop to these unnecessary deaths, by committing infrastructure funds to home energy efficiency and ending our cold homes crisis once and for all.”

Cold homes cost the NHS £1.36 billion every year, according to Age-UK. Leaky and cold homes are a cause of illnesses including chronic lung disease, asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.

According to consultants Cambridge Econometrics, investing 3% of the UK’s infrastructure budget in energy efficiency would take two million homes out of fuel poverty by 2020, and increase UK GDP by £13.9bn a year by 2030.

7 Energy-Efficient Home Improvements
Low-Flow Shower Heads(01 of07)
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A low-flow showerhead can save lots of money on utility bills. But not all such heads are made equal, so there’s something to be said for sacrificing the quality of your shower for the quantity of your savings. One showerhead that earns solid reviews is the Evolve Roadrunner II (from $39.95 with about $13 s&h, a low by $12). This showerhead allows you to warm up the shower, then cuts the flow to a trickle once the water hits 95 degrees. Then, you pull a cord on the showerhead to resume the normal flow of water, thus saving on hot water costs.

Payback Time: Evolve claims its showerhead will pay for itself in two months time, and estimates an annual utility savings of about $250. Of course, how much you save depends on your water use, utility rates, and whether you sing "Happy Birthday" in the shower or "Bohemian Rhapsody."

(Photo by Steven Depolo/Flickr Creative Commons) (credit:Flickr )
Plastic Window Wrap(02 of07)
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Taping up your windows isn't kind of home accoutrement that will win you any awards from Architectural Digest, but some people swear by plastic window wrap as a way to keep energy costs down by keeping the cold out. It's a simple fix, too: by putting plastic film over a window (and this works best for older windows), you cut down on the heat loss through the pane. This does nothing to control heat loss through a low-quality frame, though.

Payback Time: A typical window insulation kit runs about $15 and will work on five windows. And it will easily pay for itself over the course of just one winter. Josh Peterson of TLC's How Stuff Works estimates you'll save $20 per window, or $100 total.

(Photo by Amanda Watson/Flickr Creative Commons) (credit:Flickr )
Replacement Windows (03 of07)
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Wrapping old windows is just a temporary fix for the larger issue of replacing your windows. Depending on how drafty your living space you may want to consider upgrading from single-pane windows, especially if you're getting clobbered on your energy bill. The trouble is, replacing your old windows isn't cheap. Homewyse.com estimates it costs between $2,673 and $3,550 to upgrade eight mid-level windows, including installation. Is there any hope of seeing through to a payback?

Payback Time: The good news here is that the Energy Star forecasts big savings on replacement windows that earn its certification. You'll save anywhere from $126 to $465 a year for an area covering 2,000 sq. ft. On the downside, it could take roughly 10 years before you'll see a payback. The long timeframe, though, is mitigated by an immediate increase in comfort and visual aesthetics to your home. And if you're handy enough to install your own windows, you could cut the up-front costs by at least 25%.

(Photo by Kevin Clark/The Washington Post/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Learning Thermostats(04 of07)
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Learning thermostats are glorious devices that computerize control of your heating and cooling. Programmable models such as the Nest Learning Thermostat allow you to set your home's temperature via smartphone, thanks to the device's built-in WiFi. That means you can dial in the right temperature from across the room, or across the country.

Payback Time: Nest offers an approximation of savings based on your home's square footage, type of heat used, and whether you use central air. By a very conservative estimate, a Nest thermostat will completely pay for itself in five years. But the timeframe might pass as quickly as 18 months, depending on how closely you stick to a schedule for heating and cooling your home that makes maximum use of the Nest's digital technology.

(Photo by Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
Attic Insulation (05 of07)
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Many homeowners struggle with question of how much insulation and what kind they need to pad their attic rafters. Fortunately the U.S. Department of Energy's program sheet can help determine the best type of insulation for your attic based on your location. In most cases, a 12" layer of insulation is best; to install such material in 300 sq. ft. of attic will run between $110 and $167, according to Homewyse.com.

Payback Time: Get out your slide rules, kids. The U.S. Department of Energy has an insulation payback equation, but like many things associated with the government, it's complicated. Feel free to try it, but you'll need to know not just the cost of your energy and the cost of insulation, but also the efficacy rating of your heating system, the R values of your new and current insulation, and the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow, to quote Monty Python. Or, you can trust CoolCalifornia.org's forecast that insulating your attic should pay for itself in about two to three years.

(Photo by Brett and Sue Coulstock/Flickr Creative Commons) (credit:Flickr)
Ceiling Fans(06 of07)
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The mighty ceiling fan might look like a mere decorative device, but it's a secret weapon for keeping energy costs down. It works in both warm and chilly seasons because a ceiling fan circulates air. So as the warm air in your living space rises, a ceiling fan forces it back down to where it's needed, working optimally at a low speed and in a clockwise direction.

Payback Time: If you adjust your thermostat in accordance with ceiling fan use, you'll save a minimum of 10% off your heating and cooling costs. The trick is not to run the fan and your air (or heat) at full blast, but to raise your thermostat in the summer, and lower it in the winter, letting the ceiling fan do the work. Assuming it takes two $50 ceiling fans to cover your main living space, and your energy costs average $150 a month, you'll see payback within seven months.

(Photo by Eugene Kim/Flickr Creative Commons) (credit:Flickr)
Refrigerators(07 of07)
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Refrigerators these days can do just about anything, including give you the weather forecast and broadcast your thoughts to the world via Twitter. However, most of us don't think of buying a new refrigerator as a cost-saving move even though refrigerator technology has made dramatic strides since the 1970s. Nowadays new appliances use less energy compared to old ones. Shop around and you can easily find a new fridge for about $800 range.

Payback Time: Once again, EnergyStar.gov has a calculator to help you calculate how long it'll take for you new refrigerator to pay for itself. Assuming that your old fridge is from 1980-1989, and measures about 20 cu. ft., you'll save $150 a year operating a new Energy Star fridge. Assuming you can pay $900 or less for the replacement, payback time is six years away.

(Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr Creative Commons) (credit:Flickr)
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