The home energy monitor can help show you:

• The amount of electricity being used at any given moment
• The total amount of money being spent on electricity
• The difference in electricity consumption by turning on & off various appliances

The deadline for requests is Monday 7th February 2011 (while stocks last / not appropriate for high rise if meters are in communal areas).

Help reduce our impact on the environment by requesting a home energy monitor today.


The entry date for the monitors has now passed. - Thanks to all who entered!

Terms and Conditions:

To receive this offer of a free energy monitor a form must be completed in person, online or via telephone. Maximum of one monitor per household. Offer to residents of Great Britain only (not Northern Ireland). Your personal details will be used for cross checking for Ofgem compliance and may be used for marketing purposes. By accepting this npower home energy monitor you agree to receive surveys from npower about your usage of the device.

Sandwell Homes is working with the charity to offer residents advice sessions, health checks and ‘smokelyzer’ tests to check carbon monoxide levels in their lungs.

With more than 26,000 people being diagnosed with cancer in the West Midlands each year (around 72 people every day) it is hoped that the sessions will increase people’s awareness of contributing factors such as smoking and obesity whilst providing tips to improve general health and wellbeing.

Research shows that prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and breast cancer the most common in women across the West Midlands and the UK as a whole. As a result, the sessions will also encourage attendees to regularly check themselves for telltale signs such as difficulty or pain when urinating and suspicious lumps around the breast.

Cancer Research UK is a world leading charity dedicated to beating the disease through research. With figures showing that cancer survival rates have doubled in the last 30 years, the charity can demonstrate tangible benefits from its work.

Cllr Simon Hackett, cabinet member for housing, said: "This is another great example of Sandwell Homes’ commitment to forging strategic partnerships. We are committed to improving the wellbeing of our residents where possible and recognise that what we do is about more than just bricks and mortar.

"Cancer is one of the UK’s biggest killers but Cancer Research UK has shown it is possible to reduce the risks by making simple changes to your lifestyle and diet. We are happy to help them in any way we can."

The sessions will be held at the following venues in February:

• 9 Feb – Oldbury Council House – 11am-1pm
• 16 Feb – Blackheath HSC – 11am-1pm

The Sandwell Homes’ run service is relocating to Wednesbury Housing Service Centre at 41/42 High Bullen from next Monday, January 17th.

The current Walsall Street office will close on Friday, January 14th.

The property shop advertises council properties, which are available to rent through Sandwell Homes in Wednesbury and Tipton as well as properties from registered social landlords such as housing associations and some private accredited landlords.

The move will create a one-stop housing service for customers in Wednesbury and Tipton as well as creating efficiency savings through reduced rental costs.

Cllr Simon Hackett, Sandwell’s cabinet member for housing said: "All of the services currently provided within the Wednesbury Property Shop will be delivered from the Wednesbury Housing Service Centre.

"At present the Property Shop is closed for business each Tuesday, the relocation means a front-line service will be available each week day.

"Budgets are being squeezed in the public sector, so the efficiency savings that Sandwell Homes is making are to be welcomed, particularly as they are improving services at the same time."

In addition to Wednesbury Housing Service Centre, properties are also advertised via the internet at www.sandwellhomes.org.uk, through the Looking Local network on Sky or Virgin digital TV and through internet ready mobile phones at www.lookinglocal.gov.uk.

"These are huge numbers of people seeking help and it is fortunate that in the run-up to the cold weather problems we decided to increase the 13-man team of gas engineers by five to deal with the winter problems and trained up other employees to deal with frozen pipes," he said.

"This decision was taken because last January we had record levels of call-outs of 3,854. However, even this record was broken in December with over 4,500 calls."

"This was an outstanding effort from the whole team and we believe we did our best to help as many people as possible as quickly as possible," he said.

"I do know that there were some people who had to wait for assistance due to the unprecedented demand, but I hope they appreciate that on balance we did all we could to help tenants" he added.

The company also put on extra staff to handle the telephone system after a huge rise in inquiries and calls for help.

A high percentage of the problems related to the freezing of combination boilers, which brought tens of thousands of gas breakdowns across the country.

The 'combis' work in normal winter temperatures but water in the systems froze during the long periods of sub-zero temperatures

Paul Field, interim chief executive of Sandwell Homes, said the company had dealt with 3,532 calls for help in November and 4,520 in December, increases of 28 per cent and 44 per cent respectively over the previous year.

"Due to the number of calls, we have had to prioritise jobs with a focus on assisting the elderly and the most vulnerable people in the community. We thank tenants for their patience in waiting for assistance during the very busy periods." he added.