A rapid review of the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of interventions that make homes warmer and cheaper to heat for households in fuel poverty in rural and remote areas

The cost-of-living across the UK has been on the increase since the start of 2021. Living in a rural community is often associated with additional costs compared to those in urban areas. For example, people living in rural areas are not always connected to the gas grid, often using oil and liquid petroleum gas for heating that are more expensive and not subjected to energy price caps. Moreover, housing in rural areas is generally older, not as well insulated and less energy efficient than houses in urban locations, leading to increased risk of fuel poverty. Home energy advice, energy efficiency measures, and financial support all have the potential to mitigate fuel poverty. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement The Wales Centre For Evidence Based Care was funded for this work by the Health and Care Research Wales Evidence Centre, itself funded by Health and Care Research Wales on behalf of Welsh Government ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors * Acronym : Full Description DECC : Department of Energy and Climate Change DBEIS : Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy EPC : Energy Performance Certificate HES : Home Energy Scotland LED : Light-emitting diode NEA : National Energy Action OECD : Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development RC ACs : Reverse cycle air conditioners SAP : Standard Assessment Procedure TAC : Technical Advisory Cell