After hearing about the free surveys offered by the Basingstoke and Deane Green Team, I was curious but unsure about what exactly they involved. They offer two types of surveys—an energy-saving survey for your home and a garden survey focused on making your garden more wildlife-friendly. I decided to book both and see how I could make my home and garden more eco-friendly. The best part? These surveys are free, in-person, and they aren’t trying to sell you anything—just offering practical advice that could save you money or help you access grants for improvements.
How I Booked My Surveys
Booking the surveys was really easy. I reached out to the team to ask a few questions, and they directed me to book on the Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council website through a company called ThermaFY. You can choose a date and time that works for you, and although they give you a four-hour window at first, it gets narrowed down closer to your appointment. I also received a helpful email explaining what to expect and how to prepare, like turning up my heating just before they arrived and moving stuff out of the way of the radiators, apart from hard-to-move furniture.
The Energy-Saving Survey
When Claire arrived, the first thing she did was check all my radiators using a thermal imaging camera. This helped to see if they were heating up evenly or if any needed adjustment. I found out that some of my radiators weren’t as efficient as they could be, and now I know to ask for them to be balanced when I next get my boiler serviced. Don’t worry, the heating only needs to be on for about 30-45 minutes, so it doesn’t waste much energy.
She also used the thermal camera to check doors and other areas I thought might be draughty or cold. After the heating had been turned off, she asked a few simple questions about the house—things like insulation, energy and water use, and any improvements I was considering. All the information was entered into the app, and a detailed report was sent to me a few days later, direct from ThermyFY with the option of a follow up phone call to explore or explain anything further.
The Report: Practical Tips and Potential Savings
The report I received was really helpful. It showed the efficiency of each radiator, explained what a good efficiency score meant, and suggested a few small changes I could make to save energy and keep my house warmer. It also included information on grant schemes for larger projects, like installing solar panels. The report even gave an indicative EPC rating (mine was D but could be improved to a B) and explained how improving the efficiency of my heating system could cut both my energy bills and my carbon footprint.
A few of the simple, low-cost improvements they suggested included adding a draught excluder brush to my front door, sealing a corner of our bifold doors, and adding insulation to the door of our new loft cupboard. They even pinpointed which radiators needed minor adjustments to make the whole system run more efficiently.
Friendly, Helpful, and No Hard Sell
What I really appreciated was how friendly and knowledgeable Claire, my advisor, was. She answered all my questions—even the ones I thought were silly—and never made me feel pressured. I’ve been unsure about whether solar panels would be right for our house, and I liked that I could get impartial advice without feeling like I was being sold something. The whole survey took about an hour and left me with a clear idea of what to tackle first.
The Garden Survey
If you're looking to make your garden more wildlife-friendly, the garden survey is a great (and also free!) option. It only takes about an hour. I booked my two surveys (energy and garden) back-to-back, but you can book them separately or just choose one—whatever works best for you. During the survey, we walked around my garden, thinking about it from a wildlife perspective. We looked at how well it provides food, water, and shelter for different creatures, as well as the variety of plants and trees.
Claire had great ideas for every kind of garden, whether big or small. Her suggestions were simple and easy to follow. For example, I had a bee house I hadn’t put up yet and a bird nest box that was never used, likely because it wasn’t in the right spot. After the survey, I moved the nest box and put up the bee house. The report I received afterward was thorough, easy to read, and full of interesting details. It suggested plants I could add, how to create a small pond for hoverflies, and even how to build a shelter for frogs using some old roof tiles I had lying around.
This survey is a great way to get practical ideas for encouraging wildlife in your garden, while also helping to capture carbon and fight climate change.
Conclusion
Overall, I’d highly recommend this service to anyone looking to make their home or garden more eco-friendly. There are small changes we can all make that we might not have thought of, and this is a fantastic way to get personalised advice for free, at a time that suits you. If you’re interested, you can book the energy-saving survey here and the garden survey here.
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