What is the Green Deal?

The Green Deal is the Coalition Government’s flagship energy efficiency programme, intended to improve the insulation in thousands of homes around the UK. The incentive is in place to promote certain improvements without needing to pay an upfront payment for the work.

The Green Deal works as a loan. Loans are issued to help cover the cost of implementing home improvements which will aid in energy efficiency. And this will be paid back with the financial savings you make on energy bills. Remember this isn’t a Government grant and it’s your decision to take out the loan. The loan itself will stay with the property if you move in the future.

So what improvements can be made with the Green Deal? There are a few options to choose from and an energy assessor will visit your home and calculate which improvements would be best.

Insulation products such as double glazing, cavity wall insulation and loft lagging are all possible. You could also improve the efficiency of heat you produce with a new boiler.

The scheme effectively acts as an alternate way to paying the upfront costs yourself. With the insulation in place you’ll see a big difference on your gas and electricity bills, whilst your home will be producing fewer carbon emissions too.

Extra financial help

It’s not just the Green Deal which can help with your home’s energy efficiency either. You can apply for a grant under the ECO scheme, which is only available for certain households. Typically, homeowners in fuel poverty or on a low income would benefit from the scheme, but the elderly and households in receipt of benefits could be eligible too.

The ECO (Energy Company Obligation) scheme is run by the Government but funded by the big six UK energy suppliers. You’d have heard of all six too, Npower, EDF, British gas, E.ON, SSE and Scottish Power.

With this scheme, you could receive a free boiler to help reduce your energy bills and escape the clutches of fuel poverty (when you spend 10% or more of income on dual fuel bills).

The ECO scheme provides:

  • Support for homes in the UK struggling with energy bills and unable to afford the implementation costs of insulation and energy efficiency upgrades.
  • Support for low income households and properties which can’t be heated to a sufficient standard.

Whether you want to pay for energy efficiency upgrades yourself or utilise a Government scheme to help, it’s important to make the right decision. You can save hundreds of pounds every year on the ever-increasing energy bills and slash carbon emissions created by your home.

 

Facts & Figures You’ll Love To Share

  • As many as 26,000,000 homes in the UK could be eligible to receive Green Deal funding.
  • Green Deal loans are paid back over a 10-25 year period with the payments taken from energy bill savings.
  • Using the Government’s Green Deal you can upgrade your boiler, improve insulation and replace windows for no upfront fee.
  • The Green Deal’s Golden Rule states that homeowners won’t pay back more than the savings they make on energy bills with improved efficiency.

Evy Coe

Evy works for Quotatis as a Content Marketing Executive. She loves to write about interior design and help homeowners with their DIY projects.