Eco living: tackling fuel poverty In addition, fuel poverty is rising so fast that the number of households suffering from it will rise from one in four to one in three (nine million homes), according to one definition of fuel poverty, by 2016. Even if you don't suffer from fuel poverty yourself, you will know someone, maybe an elderly relative or neighbour, or a family with young children, who can't properly heat their home and will probably be suffering from some kind of health problem as a result. If you'll excuse the mixed metaphors, the "conservatory tax" is both a storm in a teacup and a red herring. Frankly, if you are building an extension, or a conservatory more than 30 sq m in size, it makes sense to spend a little more on energy efficiency measures that will benefit your whole house, keep it warmer and reduce fuel bills. The real questions we need to ask about the Green Deal are: how can the Government guarantee that any savings made by householders through energy efficiency measures won't be gobbled up during the period of the Green Deal loan by inflation-busting rises in fuel bills? Will the Green Deal do anything to help the millions of households in fuel poverty? Jenny Holland, parliamentary campaigner for the Association for the Conservation of Energy, says that going by energy companies" records, fuel bill savings will be rapidly overtaken by energy price hikes. As for tackling fuel poverty, she says it is highly unlikely that fuel-poor households will want, or be able to, take out Green Deal loans: "Low-income households have often had bad and bruising experiences with debt and won't want to take on additional loans. From the other side, Green Deal providers who will be looking to get their investment back will avoid these vulnerable households like the plague. So what is the solution? A coalition of politicians and energy campaigners believe they have one. From next year, the Treasury will begin to receive billions of pounds of revenue from the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme which the Energy Bill Revolution campaign says should be used to target energy efficiency measures at households in fuel poverty. While energy campaigners such as Consumer Focus think the Green Deal will help many middle-income households who want to improve their homes" energy efficiency without any upfront costs, they say only a radical solution, like the one proposed by the Energy Bill Revolution, will help low-income households unable to take advantage of Green Deal funds. Surely it is high time we ended the national disgrace that 7,800 people in this country die every year simply because their homes are too cold. The campaign to insulate the homes of the fuel poor: energybillrevolution.org Buildings Research Establishment: bre.co.uk Association for the Conservation of Energy: ukace.org Consumer Focus: consumerfocus.org.uk Green Deal: decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/green-deal/green-deal.aspx