Study: Fuel poverty reflects financial difficulty, not heating costs

The financial difficulties that some people experience in heating their homes is a reflection of overall poverty rather than the cost of fuel or energy efficiency, a study has shown.

Families with mortgages or rent to pay show higher levels of deprivation than those who own their homes outright, according to a study of household poverty by the Economic and Social Research Institute.

“The results suggest that fuel poverty is primarily a matter of inadequate resources rather than the cost of heating or the energy efficiency of the dwelling,” said a report published yesterday based on research conducted by the ESRI’s Dorothy Watson and Bertrand Maître.