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Seven million low-income families live in fuel poverty, which means they spend 10% or more of their annual income on energy bills. The main reasons for this are poor insulation and inefficient heating, which can lead to serious illnesses such as hypothermia, heart attacks and flu.

This is why, three years ago, the Energy in the Community initiative was set up to fight fuel poverty by promoting energy efficiency. The not-for-profit body comprises electricity company Powergen, Barnsley council and regeneration organisation Groundwork Dearne Valley. Its objectives are to create a sustainable environment for people living in the former coalmining village of Thurnscoe in South Yorkshire, which has very high fuel poverty. The scheme helped more than 2000 households save hundreds of pounds each on their energy bills and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to global warming.

First, Thurnscoe residents were encouraged to register for a free home energy survey, conducted by local surveyors trained up to the National Energy Survey standard for the project. During the survey, each householder was given a number of items to improve the energy efficiency or general safety of their home, including free low-energy light bulbs, carbon monoxide and smoke detectors, "bog hogs" (which are inserted into toilet cisterns to reduce the amount of water wasted during flushes) and, where suitable, door chains and window locks.

Each household could save £150 a year if they received the energy-saving measures

The surveyor looked at all aspects of energy efficiency in the home, to check what improvements could be made to reduce energy use – loft insulation or draught proofing, for example. People who were on benefits had these energy-efficient measures installed, funded in part by the government's Warmfront scheme.

The measures certainly worked: overhead night-time surveillance equipment captured thermal imaging footage of the village before and after energy-saving measures started on the project, showing houses that had received insulation retained more heat than those that had not signed up to the project.