More than four million UK households live in fuel poverty, defined as spending more than 10 per cent of their total income on keeping adequately warm.

Helping to solve this multi-faceted problem is the focus of research being carried out by Loughborough University, sponsored by energy company E.ON.

Fuel poverty is a complex issue that arises from a simple problem: the inability to heat your home affordably. Its key contributing factors are a home's energy efficiency, household income and the price of energy.

New research will examine possible solutions to fuel poverty and the role that energy companies can play in its eradication.

The work is sponsored by E.ON through the EPSRC CASE Award Scheme, and builds on research carried out last year as part of E.ON's Challenge 100 project.

The full results of Challenge 100 were published in October 2010, providing valuable information on the factors which lead to fuel poverty and the effectiveness of energy efficiency improvements.

The newly-announced CASE award project is a direct follow-on to that work.

Loughborough University's Director of the Sustainability Research School, and E.ON/RAEng Chair Professor Dennis Loveday said: "Fuel poverty is a socio-technical issue and so by its very nature, this research needs to have a multi-faceted approach.

"Our findings will be disseminated to key stakeholders, including Government, which has a target of eradicating fuel poverty by 2016. I have been impressed by the leadership and capability shown by E.ON in delivering Challenge 100.''

Mrs Victoria Haines, Head of User-Centred Design Research at Loughborough University and co-investigator with Professor Loveday in the research programme, added: "E.ON's commitment to Challenge 100 and to longer-term research into the issue of fuel poverty are pioneering initiatives."