The Green Deal |
|
The Green Deal. Last week I attended a conference on the Governments new Green Deal initiative and as I am sure that many of you have not heard of it I thought I should share this information as it is relevant to all householders, tenants and everybody involved in selling houses. Firstly, a quote from Chris Hulme, Secretary of State of Energy and Climate Change. “ Under the Green Deal, bill payers will be able to get energy efficiency improvements without having to front up the cash. Instead, businesses will provide the capital, getting their money back via the energy bill. At the heart of the offer is a simple rule: estimated savings on bills will always equal or exceed the cost of the work” The upshot, as I understand it, is that householders or tenants will be able to install energy saving measures such as cavity wall insulation, windows, boilers etc ( exact details to be decided) with no upfront cost and repay via their electricity bill. The unusual fact is that the loan will belong to the property and not the person, so if you move house the new owners will pick up the repayments via the electric bill. There was much debate on this issue, – on one side it seemed reasonable that the person saving the money should pick up the repayments, on the other side if you were buying a house with an outstanding bill you’d probably be looking for it to be knocked off the asking price. I’m sure there will be some very valid opinions on this as things progress. The Energy Performance Certificate will play a vital role in assessing the building and in preparation for this the epc is to be beefed up from April 2012 will all assessors having to undergo further training and sit a top-up exam. A challenge I shall meet with great enthusiasm of course. The role of Green Deal Advisors who will visit peoples home to assess the suitability for energy saving improvements will build on the qualifications of Domestic Energy Assessors and awarding bodies are currently working on a qualification standard. There will be a strong framework of accreditation and auditing in place to protect the consumer. This is all scheduled to be in place for October 2012. I have a strange feeling of déjà vu about this (hips and home condition reports for example) so we’ll have to wait and see whether there’s another last minute Government u-turn. I’ll keep you informed. Loads more info at http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/green_deal/green_deal.aspx Thanks for reading. Tony |