Description
Energy Saving Trust is a British organisation that gives free, impartial advice on insulating and heating a home, and runs government advice services such as Home Energy Scotland, without selling or installing anything.
It was formally set up in November 1992, after the Rio Earth Summit called for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. It is a private company limited by guarantee that reinvests all its profits, and much of its work is running programmes for governments. In Scotland it manages Home Energy Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government: free advice by phone on 0808 808 2282 and through local centres, the only route to Scottish Government grants and interest-free loans for home improvements. The service says it never cold calls. Energy Saving Trust also manages the Ofgem Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme, which passes money paid by energy companies to charities.
Its savings estimates are used well beyond its own site; the Advertising Standards Authority relied on its savings model when it ruled that a heat pump maker had exaggerated savings. According to its own research, replacing an old G-rated gas boiler with a heat pump saves about £260 a year on average, while households with a newer gas boiler may see no yearly saving.
Strengths
- It sells no boilers, heat pumps or insulation, and its advice service in Scotland says it never cold calls.
- Its savings figures are cautious and say when a change won’t pay, such as a heat pump replacing a newer gas boiler.
- In Scotland the same free phone line leads to government grants and interest-free loans for the work.
Weaknesses
- The phone and centre service with grants is only in Scotland; in England the government’s own adviser line, 0800 098 7950, doesn’t say who runs it.
- Much of its work is delivering government programmes, so services depend on contracts, such as the Scottish centres retendered for April 2026.
- A heat pump’s saving depends heavily on what it replaces: for an old G-rated oil boiler, its research gives only £65 a year on average.
Who it is for
Householders and landlords in the UK, especially in Scotland, who are thinking about insulation, a heat pump or solar panels and want figures from someone who isn’t selling them.
Sources
- Home Energy Scotland: home and about us (checked November 2026)
- Wikipedia: Energy Saving Trust
- GOV.UK: Find ways to save energy in your home
- Advertising Standards Authority: ruling on Danfoss Heat Pumps UK Ltd
- Find a Tender: Home Energy Scotland regional advice centres (2025)
- Scottish Parliament: submission by Energy Saving Trust on the draft climate change plan (December 2025)