Energy Efficiency – Stories & Impact in Greater Manchester

Our energy efficiency experts visit people in their homes to provide practical guidance on how to save energy, reduce costs and stay warm and well in their homes. Working with partners across the whole of Greater Manchester we provide tailored support to people who are living in fuel poverty or at a greater risk living in a cold or damp home due to ill health. We listen to and understand the challenges people face in their lives and adapt our support to meet their needs. When we hear about challenges outside of our scope of work we prioritise finding the right person or organisation who can help.

Our impact in numbers

1st April 2025 and 31st March 2026

1,263

Number of household visits

8,803

Number of small energy saving measures installed

597

Number of fuel vouchers distributed

226

Number of customers given damp & mould advice

95%

% of customers feeling more in control of their energy bills

Stories

“It’s given me back my independence“

Jonny, Rochdale

“I don’t know what I’d have done”

Joan, Trafford

“Best thing since sliced bread!”

Edward, Rochdale

Emma’s story

Tameside

54-year-old Emma from Denton has been through an extraordinary amount in a short space of time. After suffering two strokes, she found herself facing significant health challenges alongside difficulties with her employer at a time when she needed support the most.

Emma began working with Groundwork’s IPS Advisor, Tom, who provides in-work support for people with health conditions. Tom became aware that she was also struggling with rising energy costs. Following her strokes, Emma feels the cold more than most, making it essential that her home remains warm and comfortable to support her recovery. Tom therefore introduced her to Groundwork’s Green Doctor service for additional support.

Meeting Emma in her home, Green Doctor Josh discussed her concerns and contacted her energy provider on her behalf. Together they agreed that a fixed-rate tariff would be the best option, giving Emma peace of mind over what she will be paying for the next 12 months.

Josh was also able to provide a range of practical energy-saving measures to help Emma stay warm while reducing her energy use overall. He provided an electric blanket, fitted radiator foils and replaced old halogen lightbulbs with energy-saving LEDs to make the property more efficient.

Emma also had concerns about her boiler, which had been playing up at times, so we arranged for a gas engineer to visit and carry out a safety check, providing her with additional reassurance. Our team also conducted an EPC assessment of her property to understand whether she may be eligible for retrofit measures in the future.

Thank you to all of you that have helped me so far. Eternally grateful.

I’m so grateful for Alan’s support. I truly did not expect this standard of advice and support. Thank you

Julie’s Story

Oldham

Julie is retired and lives in a semi-detached house in Chadderton, Oldham. In June 2026 she attended the Community and Wellbeing day at Crossley Community Centre in Chadderton where she first met Groundwork’s energy advice team. She booked a home visit with the team at the event but was a little sceptical of support we could provide and had some concerns that there might be a cost at the end.

A few weeks later, Green Doctor Alan visited Julie’s home, introduced himself and explained how the service worked. Julie remained skeptical that she would qualify, explaining to Alan that she is just above the income threshold for any type of benefits. Alan reassured her that she remained eligible and that there were no hidden costs involved, finally putting her at ease.

Alan got to work carrying out all the usual energy saving checks around the home, discussing with Julie along the way how small lifestyle changes could help reduce her bills and reduce carbon footprint.

During the home visit Alan:

Replaced 18 old style, halogen light bulbs with energy saving LED bulbs
Fitted radiator foils behind all the radiators
Reduced the temperature setting on the boiler for the hot water from 65 degrees down to 50 degrees and for heating from 70 degrees down to 60 degrees
Repressurized the hot water system, which had dropped to almost zero
Fitted a carbon monoxide monitor

Alan was also able to make a referral for a food voucher for Julie during his visit.

Barbara’s Story

Trafford

Barbara had reoccurring problems with damp and mould in her house; there were damp patches all over her upstairs wall, the kitchen windows and doors were crumbling and there were ongoing issues in her bathroom, where there was no functioning extractor fan or a window to let in fresh air.

Barbara had contacted her Housing Association for help but felt she had hit a dead end and had therefore given up on trying to get things fixed. She had sustained injuries from her former job that prevented her from working and, coupled with her high energy costs and growing concerns about her damp and mould problem, had led to her feeling overwhelmed.

Barbara contacted Groundwork after hearing about the service from a friend and a home visit was arranged. The Green Doctor streamed a video to show Housing Association representatives the issues Barabra was facing and arrangements were made immediately for an engineer to visit the property with a damp and mould inspection to follow.

Within two months the damp patches have been addressed, a new extractor fan had been installed and new kitchen windows and doors are due to be fitted soon.