Table 1 Socio-demographic and building characteristics of the intervention and control groups of the study cohort

 Gender

Male

41.2 (145/352)

40.3 (166/412)

Female

58.8 (207/352)

59.7 (246/412)

 Age (years)

Under 25

1.4 (5/362)

2.1 (9/414)

26–35

6.9 (25/362)

6.0 (25/414)

36–45

10.8 (39/362)

9.4 (39/414)

46–54

14.1 (51/362)

11.1 (47/414)

55–64

30.1 (109/362)

25.1 (104/414)

65 or above

36.7 (133/362)

45.9 (190/414)

 Household composition

Households with no children

79.1 (284/359)

83.1 (339/415)

Households with children

20.9 (75/359)

16.9 (76/415)

 Marital status

Single

13.8 (50/363)

11.3 (47/412)

Married/cohabiting

55.1 (200/363)

51.6 (214/412)

Separated/divorced

16.0 (58/363)

21.7 (90/412)

Widowed

14.9 (54/363)

15.2 (63/412)

 Household income

£0-4,999

3.5 (12/339)

3.6 (14/392)

£5,000-9,999

23.5 (80/339)

25.8 (101/392)

£10,000-19,999

33.9 (115/339)

35.9 (141/392)

£20,000-29,999

18.0 (61/339)

15.3 (60/392)

£30,000 or higher

20.6 (70/339)

19.4 (76/392)

 Housing benefits

Yes

25.1 (89/354)

24.4 (98/402)

No

7.9 (265/354)

75.6 (304/402)

 Tenure

Owner occupied

77.5 (276/356)

74.0 (307/415)

Private rental

3.9 (14/356)

6.7 (28/415)

Local authority rental

13.8 (49/356)

13.3 (55/415)

Housing association rental

3.4 (12/356)

5.3 (22/415)

 Time lived at current address

Less than one year

3.3 (12/360)

4.3 (18/416)

1–4 years

9.4 (34/360)

11.8 (49/416)

5–9 years

14.4 (52/360)

12.7 (53/416)

More than 9 years

72.8 (262/360)

71.2 (296/416)

 Building type

Detached house

12.5 (45/360)

12.3 (51/416)

Semi-detached house

38.1 (137/360)

28.8 (120/416)

Terraced house

41.1 (148/360)

46.9 (195/416)

Bungalow

5.0 (18/360)

5.3 (22/416)

Flat

1.4 (5/360)

6.0 (25/416)

 Building age

Before 1919

44.1 (152/345)

40.7 (166/405)

1919–1945

26.1 (90/345)

24.3 (99/405)

1945–1965

17.4 (60/345)

23.5 (96/405)

1965–1979

7.5 (26/345)

6.1 (25/405)

1980 or later

4.9 (17/345)

5.4 (22/405)

 Number of bedrooms

One

1.7 (6/358)

5.4 (22/409)

Two

19.8 (71/358)

20.8 (85/409)

Three

68.2 (244/358)

65.3 (267/409)

Four or more

10.4 (37/358)

8.5 (35/409)

 Arbed energy efficiency measures

External wall insulation

71.7 (261/364)

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Full central heating

39.0 (138/354)

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Voltage Optimiser

44.4 (159/358)

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Heating control

28.6 (101/353)

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Connection to mains gas

13.9 (49/353)

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