A ‘Green Deal’ or a ‘very confusing deal’?

There is an awfully large percentage of UK homes which are very energy inefficient. Energy won’t be getting cheaper anytime soon so something will have to be done.
Anyone can get heavily grant subsidised (or even free) loft and cavity insulation which would save them a small fortune over time, but its surprizing how many people still don’t go for it. Scare stories about CWI causing damp, poor quality installation and even the reluctance of people to clear their loft of junk may be some of the reasons. Or perhaps Gas and Electricity just isn’t expensive enough yet for people to take notice, but give it a year or two, it will be.
Bigger ticket improvements like solid wall insulation, heat pumps, new boilers etc. although already state subsidised to a degree still leave the home owner with a very hefty cost to cover.
A “Green Deal” loan could work provided the terms are correctly worked out. But there has to be an immediate benefit to the home owner or people just won’t go for it.
I think linking the loan to the property is a good fist step. People who move don’t have to carry the mill stone of a loan with them. Next I’d suggest allowing the home owner to keep say half the energy bill savings and use the other half to repay the loan. An incentive, without which why would most people do it, there would be no immediately visible gain?
Problem is if only half the saving is used the Green loan repayment period might be longer than the life of the new energy efficient installation, so that might not work unless this is overcome by there also being more state subsidy and very low repayment interest. I doubt that will happen.
Then there is the issue of installers captitalising on this initiative. An example being the recent boiler scrappage scheme. “Approved” outfits like British Gas would install a new boiler for well over £2000 then say £400 is knocked off the price through the scrappage scheme, but a “non-scheme-approved” independant Gas Safe plumber could often install for £1500 or less without any £400 scrappage allowance?
Regretably the only spur that will really get many many people to start taking notice and improve the energy efficiency of their homes will be ever increasing energy costs and without help that will hit the poorest and most vunerable very hard.
I hope the Government gets the “Green Deal” detail right so there is incentive, improvement and fairness for all, but based on track record to date I expect another less than fair and poorly thought out “Green wash”.
I hope I’m wrong.

Interesting – This in effect the same deal as PFI (the deal to pay for rebuilding our schools) that this “government” decided was “expensive and inefficient” and so new school building was scrapped with enormous effect on Councils and school children

But somehow it is fine to use the same system – without guarantees or clarity – to “Green-ise” homes.

If we have to rely on the Private Sector cowboys then it will just be another waste on our money, as the un-educated will be taken for a ride and everyone else will keep well away.

My cavity wall insulation double glassing and loft insulation are all more than thirty years old. I will soon be in my seventies.
Although my house in theory is energy effective does the Green deil recognise the useful life of say double glassing?

The interest rate for Green Deal is likely to be around 7.5% (an estimate and we will have to wait to see what the ‘market’, i.e Tesco, M&S et al set). Saving 7.5% on your energy bills is quite an impressive target but if you have to save that just to pay the interest, this plan looks set to fall short.

The saving in reduction of energy use by 2020 mentioned yesterday on TV of a third by the government is not realistic a lot has already been done by the public, a reduction of a third is just to much, designs of existing housing in many cases does not allow for changes to be made to properties within viable costs, certainly without changes to planning laws. Current properties being built now are not energy efficient they need a radical change to building regulation regarding thermal efficiency. Whenever the government comes up with grants etc they won’t give them to householders to do the work, only to a recognized list of companies which charge too much for the work, and often the work is not to a good standard because the people carrying out the work have not had the training and often don’t care enough about quality. It is cheaper to do the work yourself if you are able for less than you would be charged by these companies, effectively these companies absorb the grants and more. So if the government wants to do something improve the current build quality of new homes, but the won’t do that as they THINK it increases the cost!

There are a number of related issues involved here. Improvements to the energy efficiency of ALL buildings is the first step in reducing our energy needs, This will give a quick win in reducing consumer demand almost immediately and in the longer term, reduce the need for greater supply capacity giving more choice of generation technology. The main reason for the lack of uptake in the existing schemes is the restricted choice of technologies being allowed and the use of “approved suppliers” to qualify for the grants. My property is not suitable for cavity wall insulation but is suitable for external cladding insulation, assuming planning consent is approved. This is not an option on offer. My property would also be better improved by using a roof-space insulation like “Celotex” or even lambswool as opposed to fibreglass. With insulated foil backed foam boards I could insulate my roof space but still ventilate between the sarking and board, prolonging the life of my roof. This is not an option under the scheme.

In the main, these schemes are being run to benefit the “approved suppliers” who are able to install solutions that suit their product preferences and with little or no regulation or governance to ensure that the grant has been spent in a way that delivers the original requirement. Too often these schemes are established with the best of intentions but are left with the contractors providing their own regulation and quality control and that is definitely not best practice! It is a license to print money to put into the pockets of the “approved suppliers”. Many householders are more than capable of arranging for the work to be done either by a contractor or themselves. This has the potential to reduce the overall cost to the government and the householder but, there is again a requirement for regulation and inspection to ensure that the money has been used as planned.

As for the use of alternative “green” generation technologies; it will take more than politicians listening to the current set of lobbyists with their own agendas to put together a sustainable forward strategy. It is essential that independent technologists and forward thinkers are involved to ensure that fully thought out, joined-up, connected systems are proposed, designed and developed that will do a job now and are sustainable in the long-term.

The technologies to generate the electrical power required are in existence, what is missing is the capability to store this for when it is needed. The technology for us to move to a Hydrogen energy infrastructure exists and is being used in Shetland and elsewhere. It is in its infancy but, offers the opportunity to develop micro-generation systems capable of powering energy efficient domestic properties, provide fuel for green personal transport systems and have reserve capacity to provide top-up capacity to boost the industrial capacity of the country during peak manufacturing hours..

We need to invest in developing Hydrogen systems that will be sustainable and green and could boost our manufacturing and export capabilities.

For goodness sake, we the general public elect politicians to govern and regulate all areas of society to ensure that we are protected from those who would manipulate those systems designed to improve our society and lives. When it comes to offers of funding for improvements that benefit us individually and nationally, provide expert guidance and technical advice but also regulation and governance to ensure there is individual accountability. However, allow us to be properly engaged in the process of improving our own homes. When people have ownership they feel responsible and accountable for their actions and are very likely to buy-in to any improvement projects.