How do you like the idea of getting £5,000 to help save energy in your home? Well thanks to a new government scheme, homeowners in England can now look forward to that very prospect. It’s all part of the government’s plan to help lower the country’s emissions and save people money on their energy bills.
What is the Green Homes Grant?
On 8th July, the government announced it would be making £2 billion of funding available to homeowners and landlords in England to help pay for energy-saving improvements. The Green Homes Grant will come in the form of a voucher to cover two thirds of the cost of hiring tradespeople to improve a home’s energy performance, up to a maximum cost of £5,000. The grant does not apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Bigger grants for low-income households
What’s better than £5,000? Why, £10,000 of course! Households on low incomes will be eligible for double the usual grant.
What will the Green Homes Grant pay for?
The voucher is to be used to pay for tradespeople to carry out energy-saving improvements on a home. These professionals will need to be registered for the scheme, at which point they can be identified by a ‘Green Deal approved’ logo.
Examples of improvements the voucher could be used for are:
- insulation, such as walls, floors, or lofts
- heating systems, such as eco-friendly boilers
- Low-energy lighting
- draught-proofing
- double glazing
- renewable energy, such as solar panels or heat pumps
How will it work?
The full details are yet to be announced, but it’s likely the process will start with an assessment of the property to determine the most effective improvements to make. The assessor would also take details of your earnings to establish how much money you’d be eligible to claim.
The next step would be to get a quote from a Green Deal-accredited supplier who could then be employed to carry out the work. The homeowner would then pay for one third of the work themselves, with the remaining two thirds covered by the grant.
For example, the cost of cavity wall and floor insulation might be £4,000, of which a household not on a low income would pay £1,320 of their own money, and use the voucher to cover the remaining £2,680.
And for low-income households, the government would cover 100% of the cost of the improvements, with a voucher for up to a maximum of £10,000.
When can I get a Green Homes Grant?
The grant will be available at some point in September, with exact dates to be announced. As yet it is not known how long it will take to receive the grant once approval has been given.
As ever, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the situation, so make sure you check in with us to get the latest updates.