The Government's new Green Deal Scheme has launched this year - this scheme aims to improve the energy efficiency of homes via grants to homeowners and landlords to fund, or part-fund, the fitting of performance enhancing measures such as modern boilers, insulation or even solar panels. Response has been luke warm and critics are waiting to pounce on any opportunity to prove that the government scheme is a flop and a failure... what a shame - we think this scheme, employed correctly and with correct financial safeguards in place, has excellent potential to contribute to the EU directive of reducing CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050.
Here are 10 good reasons to use the scheme:
1) It will save money for the consumer: Ultimately, using less energy will cost the consumer less money. Who wouldn't want to save money?! Yes, you have to wait for the grant to be paid off... but during this period you'll be no worse off than if you hadn't taken the grant.
2) It could make you money! Feed-in tariffs for photovoltaic solar panels and for Micro-CHP systems pay homeowners for surplus electricity that is fed into the National grid.
3) It will more than likely improve the value of your home. Buyers of homes are becoming more savvy and more choosy about what they spend their money on. For example, most customers these days, given the choice, are not even going to consider a home without double-glazing or a modern >90% efficient boiler.
4) It's great for landlords: By 2018, any home in the private rented sector needs to score in Band D or above on an energy performance certificate. The letting of a home in Band F or G will be banned! The Green Deal is the obvious way to improve a property's energy efficiency and since the energy savings are measured and recouped through the utility bill the tenant would be paying back the grant.
5) Job creation: Green Deal funded measures must be installed by approved Green Deal Installers - this has the potential to create more jobs in the building trade. Plumbers, electricians, roofers, construction, and gas engineers will all be required which could be a timely rejuvenation of these industries.
6) It's good for the economy: Large scale uptake of new technologies and their associated installation requirements can only be good for the economy. There are hundreds of industries affected both in the UK and abroad - think of all the components in a boiler, or the inverters and electrical components in a PV system, the turbine technology of wind power generation... all those unseen parts need manufacturing and assembling and transporting. The scaling up of these industries, whether it's in the UK or Europe can only be a good thing.
7) Advances in technology: It is true that some of these energy efficiency measures are expensive. Photovoltaic panels for an average house cost between £7,000 to £10,000 and a micro-CHP boiler could be a similar price. Economies of scale and uptake of the technology will drive the costs down and progress advances in technology to further improve efficiency.
8) Building Standards: there is still a problem in the UK with rogue traders and unregistered tradesman. These tradesman are often not qualified nor trained in what they are doing and risk serious danger or death to themselves and their customers. Green Deal Installers will have to be registered, checked and inspected by a Government approved scheme such as NAPIT or APHC.
9) Avoid Fines: Should the Government not reach its target of 80% reduction of CO2 by 2050 then it will incur serious fines by the EU. These fines will be funded by the UK Taxpayers money! That's bad for taxpayers, bad for the economy and bad for the Government that is in power at the time.
10) The Environment: There is now no doubt amongst the climatologist of the world that global warming is taking place and there is no doubt that human activity is a significant cause. In May 2013 the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 400parts per million; this is a depressing milestone and the highest concentration of CO2 for 3 million years. We need to act. That's what the Green Deal is really all about - an effort to do something.
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| You might think the Green Deal doesn't apply to newer homes. This Barn conversion is only 14 years old but would still benefit from increased loft insulation, draft proofing around all doors, improved double glazing and an upgrade of its oil fired boiler. Rural locations could also be suitable for wind turbines. |
Any homeowner, landlord or person with a professional interest in the property industry, environment or economy should be backing the Green Deal all the way. Whether to use it or not is a no-brainer frankly. But to sit back, do nothing and gleefully wait for it to fail is lunacy.
See this link for the Department Of Energy And Climate Change's page in the Green Deal:
https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures/how-the-green-deal-works
Chris Chambers is the owner of Proudhouse Property and Wigglies - Electrical Services. Creating innovative and sustainable homes in Somerset and the South West of England.
