New government funding for boilers and double glazing?

I had someone knock on the door today checking to see if we'd already had our loft and cavity walls insulated. We had the loft done last year and paid £99 -am gutted you can now get it for free!:(
He then mentioned that as from January next year, the government will be providing help with double glazing (if you don't have any) and replacing boilers. I haven't heard anything to this effect before now - is there any truth in it?

Comments

  • YoYoY
    YoYoY Posts: 281 Forumite
    edited 25 September 2012 at 3:19PM
    I had someone knock on the door today checking to see if we'd already had our loft and cavity walls insulated. We had the loft done last year and paid £99 -am gutted you can now get it for free!:(
    He then mentioned that as from January next year, the government will be providing help with double glazing (if you don't have any) and replacing boilers. I haven't heard anything to this effect before now - is there any truth in it?

    Free loft insulation? Government assistence with double glazing and replacing my boiler?

    Where do I sign up to these government handouts to refurbish my house in the current austire times, and massive government borrowing?

    If we are all given free loft insulation, and government funded financial assistence to buy double glazing and new boilers, will they stick our taxes up?
    Or is this to be funded my simply printing money (or quantitative easing as they like to call it after the trouble Hitler got into for printing money)?
  • There is a scheme where you can improve your house and you repay any energy savings you make as a result ie new boiler, insulation etc. There is also renovation grants which I believe is now paid for by a charge when you sell your home and maybe subject to strict criteria.

    All these scheme though at ultimately paid by us the home owner or energy customer on our bills

    If someone knocks on your door trying the hard sell you can be sure they could be lying or not giving you a good deal
  • SailorSam
    SailorSam Posts: 22,754
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    The boiler thing will be something like Warmfront.
    It depends upon what benefits you're on.

    http://www.articlebiz.com/article/201116-1-warm-front-heating-grants/
    Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
    What it may grow to in time, I know not what.

    Daniel Defoe: 1725.
  • Caz, I think you are asking about "the green deal".

    The green deal is a government initiative that is designed to help home owners to employ more green technologies in your home. The idea is to install green technology into your home with no upfront costs.You will pay back the costs plus loan interest through your energy bill over a period of time. This is unlike a conventional loan because if you move out of your property the bill stays with the property where the savings are occurring and not with the bill payer.

    I think quite a few will not get the good sounding scheme because of "the golden rule". The energy savings must outweigh the cost of any improvements for the loan to be given.
    The secret to success is making very small, yet constant changes.:)
  • Pincher
    Pincher Posts: 6,552
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    I had the same visit today.

    Two people, one wearing high visibility jacket, who did all the talking, and had a clip board, the other one who looks like a Sith apprentice (who looked pretty but said little).

    Claimed he wasn't trying to sell us anything, but was doing a government survey.

    Asked about loft insulation, and wanted to know if it was done with a grant. And then wanted to know if our boiler had been changed. Did not mention double glazing. Told him loft insulation was under a grant, and the boiler was changed two years ago.

    I presume they would have offered to sign us up for free loft insulation if it wasn't done already.
  • Maybe it is the green deal that he was talking about - not sure though?
    Will have to wait and see what happens, but we are getting so many phone calls and people knocking on the door atm, checking we have already had the loft and walls done, because if not, they are totally free now. Ultimately we have paid for these through our taxes - nothing is ever really free is it?!;)
  • geoff2
    geoff2 Posts: 70 Forumite
    YoYoY wrote: »
    ...

    If we are all given free loft insulation, and government funded financial assistence to buy double glazing and new boilers, will they stick our taxes up? ...

    Well, why not? It's not a bad way of distributing the cost of essentials across the population because there are so many people, even those who are working ,but for whom the cost of such improvements rule them out, so they are locked into spending a disproportionate amount of their income on wasted energy. I'd draw the line at persistent "job-seekers" though.
  • Pincher
    Pincher Posts: 6,552
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    Free boiler? Don't you have to be on some kind of credit/benefit?

    Three years ago I checked for my mother, who had a cash ISA that was a few thousand pounds over the savings threshold (means testing). So even though her annual income was below the income tax threshold, i.e. not a lot, she didn't get a free boiler. I managed to swipe the £400 boiler scrappage though.
  • ECO & Green Deal

    Look, today's date is the 26th Set 2012, the technical end point of the current ECO delivery has an October 2012 deadline. Most of the local authority & housing association delivery of loft & wall insulation have closed their books already. Why they closed their books I've no idea because the new ECO scheme starts from the 1st Oct 2012 anyway. The nationals are still scurrying round trying to get as many 'intended ' on their books before the tight ECO deadline date.

    As to double glazing the communities & local government currently have available a double glazing grant. this depends on

    - housing benefit
    - certain income benefits
    - DLA
    - elderly
    - home with young children living in it

    The Green Deal advisor's can start surveying houses from the 1 October 2012, but the Green Deal finance [the point at which you sign] will not be available until 28 Jan 2013. So the Green Deal will go live next month but no actual work can begin until next year, and finance won't flow till the end of Jan 2012.
    Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ
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