I had a very positive experience with Home Energy Scotland and the full process from initial contact through to installation. Everything was clearly explained, and communication was good through... See more
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Scott contacted me as he was concerned by what I had told him. He was very thorough doing an epc which i needed and explained clearly how an ashp system would work. He let me have a comparison of he... See more
Company replied
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review for Home Energy Scotland – South East I called last night after many months of being given the runaround by Proximus Solutions UK. From the outset, Hannah was absolutely... See more
Company replied
Did the questionnaire for 1 bed room double glazed ground floor flat with highly efficient new storage heaters. Epc high D. It told me EPC F. Useless: it suggested room in roof and wall insulati... See more
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Company details
Written by the company
Home Energy Scotland helps people in Scotland create warmer homes, reduce their energy bills, and lower their carbon footprint. We are funded by the Scottish Government and managed by Energy Saving Trust. We work with people and organisations to help tackle fuel poverty and the climate emergency – both key priorities for Scottish Government (and humans in general). We do this through a network of regional advice centres covering all of Scotland, which offer local knowledge and expert advice on saving energy and keeping warm at home, funding options including Scottish Government grants and interest free loans, installing renewable energy at home, greener travel including electric vehicles and ebikes and cutting water waste.
Contact info
5 Thistle Street, EH2 1DF, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- 0808 808 2282
- ne.homeenergyscotland.org
4.0
Great
239 reviews
No recent history of asking for reviews
This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative
Replied to 100% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 48 hours
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Really helpful discussion
Really helpful discussion exploring available options and providing good advice on the way forward.
November 7, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Jonathan,
Thank you so much for your great review.
We’re so glad that you found your discussion with our advisor to be helpful with exploring your options. We really appreciate you taking the time to provide this feedback of our service.
If there’s anything else we can help you with in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Gen.
Happy with Home Energy Scotland.
So far I am very happy with Home Energy Scotland. Customer service was excellent, This morning I had a visit from an assessor and all went well, very friendly, polite and efficient lady.
December 3, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Marie ,
Thank you so much for your great review. We’re so glad that you found our assessor to be polite, friendly and helpful and that we were able to assist with the assessment of your property.
We really appreciate you taking the time to provide this feedback on our service. If there’s anything else we can help you with in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Vanessa
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Sarah,
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback.
If there’s anything we can help you with in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Beth
Excellent customer service
The advisor was very knowledgeable and was a skilled communicator who provided a lot of helpful information and advice in a friendly and professional manner. I feel able to progress towards energy saving home improvements that will also save money and at little cost.
November 29, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Carol,
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a lovely review of our service.
We are so pleased to hear that you found our advisor to be knowledgeable and friendly and that they were able to provide you with practical advice you can use to help you save money on your energy bills.
If there’s anything else we can help you with in the future, please do get in touch, we’ll be happy to help.
Kind regards,
Gen.
These people are unbilevably inept
These people are unbilevably unprofessional. The awarded us a grant and asked for the claim to be made via a form they provided to be Email. We did this, and no response. When we telephoned thety said they nologer use the form and we had to calim online. We did, no response. Called again. Were told some thins were missing. We up loaded these and called again to check eveything was now received and the claim would proceed. It was. 2 weeks later they say somthing else is missing..... We are now on the 4 itteration of this fiasco. It seems they have 10 days to pay after the claim is received. I suppose these delayed responses to say somthing is missing is just to save them doing their jobs and paying on time.... We have friends who waited 9 months for payment, with a similar series on nonsensical delays
November 29, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello John,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of our service.
We’re really sorry to hear about your experience you’ve had and particularly, the issues you’ve experienced with applying for funding.
If you would like to make a formal complaint of the service, you can contact the Services Delivery team at the Energy Saving Trust by emailing servicesdeliveryscotland@est.org.uk or calling 0808 108 9414 from Monday – Friday between 9am and 5pm.
Alternatively, you can also contact Home Energy Scotland by emailing us at reviews@homeenergyscotland.org and we will then ensure that your complaint is passed to our Services Delivery team who manage our grant and loan applications.
If there’s anything else we can do to help you in the future, please do let us know.
Kind regards,
Gen.
Poor advice
I first contacted HES in 2021. Despite explaining my financial situation, they just tried to sell me loans which I could not afford to repay. They failed to tell me about the free heating upgrades available to eligible persons. I only found out about these through Martin Lewis! This is a terrible failure from a publicly funded body. Also, a lot of the work being funded is overpriced and not good value to the taxpayer. Many of the sub-contracted companies have very poor reviews and levels of customer service. Some vulnerable people have been left in a worse position with no recourse. Disappointing but sadly predictable with levels of corruption around govt-funded contracts.
November 20, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of our service.
We’re sorry to hear about your experience with Home Energy Scotland. That you felt the advice provided didn’t fully address your needs and that important information about available support was not clearly communicated. We aim to provide the best possible service and support to everyone, and we will ensure that your comments will be passed on to the relevant teams.
If you would like to discuss this further or make a formal complaint, you can email our reviews inbox: reviews@homeenergyscotland.org.
If there’s anything else we can help you with in the meantime, please do stay in touch.
Kind regards,
Sam
Bureaucratic at best. Obstructive at worst.
My daughter and son-in-law are undertaking a renovation project to and old cottage property that has been unoccupied for over 2 years.
The reason I write is to highlight the ineffectiveness of Home Energy Scotland (HES) / Energy Savings Trust (EST) in providing funding support to enable them make their future home energy efficient.
Their project is not complicated - It requires the complete ‘gutting’ of the property and the installation of a number of energy efficiency improvements and renewables, as promoted by your HES campaigns. However, although a considerable marketing budget seems to be allocated to the promotion of warmer home initiatives, their experience of the follow through with actual support has been overly bureaucratic at best, and obstructive at worst.
Although HES have been good at offering advice, they would appear to lack knowledge of how retrofit insulation and renewable installations are achieved in domestic renovation projects. There is an assumption that householders will engage a variety of ‘accredited’ contractors. My daughter and son in law's research to date has shown that, if they can find them, many of these contractors are ‘cowboys’ who inflate costs because they are grant funded, and are unwilling to work with other trades.
They took advice from HES, who suggested that, because their project was a complete renovation and works required to be coordinated, they should request that EST use their discretion to review grant applications on a case by case basis. Disappointingly, after a detailed application process, EST were dismissive, only suggesting that an appeal be made to the Scottish Government.
Going round in circles...
November 9, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello James,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review of our service.
We’re sorry to hear that your daughter and son-in-law have found Home Energy Scotland and Energy Saving Trust to be ineffective in providing funding support towards energy efficiency measures.
We’re also sorry that your daughter found the team at EST to be dismissive. If they would like to make a formal complaint of the service, they can contact the Services Delivery team at the Energy Saving Trust by emailing servicesdeliveryscotland@est.org.uk or calling 0808 108 9414 from Monday – Friday between 9am and 5pm.
Alternatively, they can contact us at Home Energy Scotland by emailing reviews@homeenergyscotland.org so we can help investigate and raise this complaint further with the Services Delivery management team.
We’re sorry that that this experience has been a negative one, however, if there’s anything else we can do to help you in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Gen.
The Grant claim process was very clear…
The Grant claim process was very clear and efficient. All the advisors I spoke to were courteous and efficient. Great service.
November 8, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Christopher,
Thank you so much for your great review of our service.
We’re so glad to hear that you found our advisors to be courteous and efficient and that our funding process was clear for you.
We really appreciate you taking the time to provide this feedback on our service.
If there’s anything else we can assist you with in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Gen.
Excellent service from start to finish
Excellent service from start to finish. Independent, high quality advice from a great advisor who took time to explain everything to me.
October 30, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello David,
Thank you so much for your wonderful review.
We are so glad that you found our service to be excellent and that our advisor took the time to explain everything.
We really appreciate you providing this feedback.
If there’s anything else we can help you with in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Beth
Poor communication
Tried to contact them a number of times after my boiler was playing up, contacted them again, nothing so gave up.
October 12, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Richard,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of our service.
We’re so sorry to hear that you have been unable to speak with an advisor regarding your boiler issues and that you have found our communication to be poor.
We understand that sometimes our telephone services can be busy, especially during the evenings and weekends, however, if you wish to contact us again, you can call us on 0808 808 2282 Monday-Friday 8am-8pm and Saturdays 9am-5pm.
Alternatively, you can visit our website for details on how to contact in other ways including by email or our Whatsapp service: https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/contact-us
We apologise for any inconvenience this issue has caused you but if there’s anything we can do to help you in the future, we hope you do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Gen.
Helpful
They were quick to contact me, friendly, helpful and a good experience all round
October 9, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Morgan,
Thank you so much for your great review.
We’re so glad that you had a friendly and helpful experience. We really appreciate you taking the time to provide this feedback on our service.
If there’s anything else we can help you with in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Sam
Applying for a HES grant/loan
I have been preparing to transition from oil to ground source heat pump for the past year. I read a lot of background material from HES on the Internet as well as consulting other sources and discussing with professional services who might be installing. As a final step I contacted HES directly re grants and loans. I found their telephone service very polite, thorough and informative, especially about the grants process - I was already aware of the technical information.
The grant/loan process until this stage had been a bit of a mystery - I knew it was out there, but there seemed to be no way to access it on the internet. In fact, it needs an electronic link to be sent to you by HES following a telephone review by their team to make sure you are informed and that the application would be appropriate. This seems reasonable, though it could be explained better on the web sources.
The link leads to the application form which is in a number of different sections which can be completed over days or weeks as the information you input is held in draft form and can be edited and added to before final submission. I did it over several days - it is not complicated but does need several bits of supporting documentation. As I am putting in extensive insulation upgrades as well as the GSHP I needed to ensure that I was using companies that have approved certification such as Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and I had to provide the MCS number for the company and also for the heat pump they were planning to instal. You also need to attach an itemised quote of the works to be done from contractors. I had no problems with using the software, everything worked as it should.
I had been advised that if you do not use approved installers, it can delay grant or loan approval considerably. I was also told that incomplete information in the application would also cause delays as this additional information was sought.
My experience has been positive so far, the next step is getting a decision which should happen within the next 10 days. If this anticipated timing is correct, I shall increase the rating to 5 stars - whether or not the grant/loan is approved. If the grant is awarded I will take it as read that it will come through at some stage. I do not know the process of drawing it down but I am aware that some of the money cannot be given until the completion of work as it requires a further EPC assessment following completion, so I am not relying on it coming through before the work is begun. The important thing is that I will know my full budget with or without the grant and loan.
October 4, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Alistair,
Thank you so much for your positive and informative review.
We are so glad that our team have been able to assist you with the information you required.
We really appreciate that you have taken the time to provide this feedback on our service.
If there’s anything else we can help you with, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Beth
Helpful and knowledgeable call staff
Very thorough and informative on the phone. The process of applying for grants was made very clear and they've been very helpful throughout.
October 2, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Will,
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a great review of our service.
We’re so glad to hear our staff is helpful and knowledgeable on the phone; Additionally, that you found the process of applying for grants was made very clear and we have provided all the assistance you need during that process.
If there’s anything else we can help you with in the future, please do get in touch, we’ll be happy to help.
Kind regards,
Alex
The time they took to explain…
The time they took to explain everything and put my mind at rest over the way it all works and what happens after some one comes round to see just what you need.
October 3, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Roy,
Thank you so much for your lovely review of our service.
We’re so glad to hear our advisors took the time to explain the process to you and reassured you about the next steps in your journey.
If you have any further questions about your recent contact or there’s anything else we can assist you with, please do get in touch, we’ll be happy to help.
Kind regards,
Gen.
Good service
Friendly, helpful and knowledgeable advisor was able to save me money, help me find green solutions for my home, and point me towards funding sources.
September 19, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Jo,
Thank you so much for your great review.
We’re so glad that you found our advisor to be knowledgeable and helpful and that we were able to assist you with finding greener solutions for your home.
We really appreciate you taking the time to provide this feedback on our service.
If there’s anything else we can help you with in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Beth
Honestly don't waste you're time or…
Honestly don't waste you're time or effort trying to get funding the whole process was an absolute nightmare! They have no interest in actually paying the funding out !
September 26, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Andy,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review of our service. We’re sorry to hear about your experience of our service and the impact that this has had on you personally.
If you would like to make a formal complaint, you can contact the Services Delivery team at the Energy Saving Trust by emailing servicesdeliveryscotland@est.org.uk or calling 0808 108 9414 from Monday – Friday between 9am and 5pm.
You can also contact Home Energy Scotland by emailing us at reviews@homeenergyscotland.org.
If there’s anything else we can do to help you in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Sam
ZERO STARS
This has got to be the worst service on the planet! I waited nearly 4 and half months for approval of my grant and loan, constant rejections for 1 reason or another, it took my installation company to get involved in order to get the matter resolved. Now for the next challenge to actually receive the funds! ZERO STARS
September 23, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Sam,
We’re sorry to hear about your experience of Home Energy Scotland and our Services Delivery Team, in particular, the issues with the funding approval process.
We appreciate the impact this has had on you personally and would like to apologise for this.
If you would like to make a formal complaint of the service, you can contact the Services Delivery team at the Energy Saving Trust by emailing servicesdeliveryscotland@est.org.uk or calling 0808 108 9414 from Monday – Friday between 9am and 5pm.
You can also contact us at Home Energy Scotland by emailing reviews@homeenergyscotland.org so we can help investigate and raise this complaint further for you with the Services Delivery management team.
If there’s anything else we can do to help you in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Alex
Cash flow problems?
When you actually try to draw down your loan there is always some excuse, 'documents weren't received' (even though you have an email to say they have received), 'you need to send us another declaration'. Everyone from HES ,I have talked to has worked from home. They do not seem to know much of why documents go missing!
September 9, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Helen,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review of our service.
We’re so sorry to hear about your experience of our service and any issue about the process of your drawn down loan.
We appreciate the impact this will have had on you and sincerely apologise for this.
If you would like to discuss the issue or make a formal complaint of the service, you can contact the Services Delivery team at the Energy Saving Trust by emailing servicesdeliveryscotland@est.org.uk or calling 0808 108 9414 from Monday – Friday between 9am and 5pm.
You can also contact us at Home Energy Scotland by emailing reviews@homeenergyscotland.org so we can help investigate and raise this complaint further for you with the Services Delivery management team.
If there’s anything else we can do to help you in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Alex
The information on funding and what…
The information on funding and what improvements that can be done was professional and knowledgeable.
September 5, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Andy,
Thank you so much for your positive feedback of our service and for taking the time to provide this.
We’re so glad that you found our information on funding and improvements to be professional and knowledgeable.
If there’s anything else we can assist you with in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Beth
First Class Service
Really impressed with all aspects of HES. The friendly and knowledgeable staff who take the time to listen to you and advise accordingly. Highly recommend using HES, so many benefits to help in making our home warmer and more cost efficient.
September 4, 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Home Energy Scotland
Hello Elaine,
Thank you so much for your wonderful review of our service.
We’re so glad we were able to provide advice to help with making your home warmer and more cost efficient.
We really appreciate you taking the time to provide this feedback on our service.
If there’s anything else we can assist you with in the future, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Beth
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