Green Deal MSE Guide Discussion

I have to say I am VERY interested in the Green deal but I am still unsure as to whether or not it should be trusted.
I have an old 1850 cottage, with thick stone walls. I have double glazing, loft insulation (8") and central heating with a V-E-R-Y old Triang oil boiler, which I am told is only about 40% efficient so I would be looking to upgrade that under the green deal to a newer one of about 95% efficiency.

The biggest concerns I have are the green deal installers versus the trusted "local" plumber.
The local plumber will have a future interest in the job, will earn money from future servicing and can be competitive. Not to mention, someone to go and shout at if the work's not 100% up to sacratch.
The green deal (as it seems to me,) works that the assessor will send down a plumber from "wherever" to do the job (I haven't found a Somerset assessor or installer yet....) and they won't care about future work on it or future responsibility such as servicing or the like.

Also isn't there an enormous opportunity for mischief amongst the installers, for instance, if a local trusted plumber would charge (say for instance) £2000 for a new boiler, what's to stop the green deal allocated installers from doing a £2000 job but putting £3000 on your bill?

I heard on the grapevine that the assessors and companies taking part in the G.D. have to shell out a significant amount of money to "join" the scheme and they are going to want to get that back aren't they?

I would like to take the Green deal opportunity to warm my house (as I can't afford to replace the boiler outright myself) but as Martin has righteously pointed out on many occasions before: "If it looks to good to be true, then it usually is!"

Any thoughts and advice would be very much appreciated!

Congratulations on an excellent review, given the near unanimous pasting the Green Deal has taken in the press, I am relieved that your review is cautiously optimistic about what it can achieve and about what opportunities it presents to the public.

Can I point out that some Green Deal Advisors will be operating as sole traders, registering through Assessor organisations. The Assessor organisations are currently authorised to use the Green Deal Mark to show that they are compliant with the scheme, but individual Advisors will not be able to do this. Should your readers attempt to verify the credentials of the sole trader Advisor, they may conclude that as the Green Deal Mark is absent, that this individual is not accredited to provide the assessment service, when that is not the case.

The section that refers to the Golden Rule and how the assessment will be cautious about savings estimates, could include reference to the way in-use factors are used in the calculations. You will probably be aware of DECCs statement on this recently, which are shown here...https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-savings-figures-are-calculated-under-the-green-deals-golden-rule

One pre-assumption is already almost dead in the water, and by a high margin. The transfer of insulation costs from the treasury to the householder was based on the lower VAT rate of 5 per cent, products such as controls for heating and hot water systems, to include the bulk of all insulation be it solid wall or loft or whatever. Add a further 15% to the cost with its associated 7 years cumulative and suddenly the cost changes. Transferring that cost to householders requires the retrofitting 80 existing buildings to a band A level EPC needs to happen every 60 minutes for the next 40 years.

On a the same subject its nothing more than a carbon trading scheme for individuals, brought in through the back door and directly paid for on interest accruing credit by homeowners, a kind of non-governmental individualised version of a PFI.

The UK has two critical legal obligations :

- eradicating fuel poverty by 2016
- an 80% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050

Note01 : from HM Treasury and the tree hugging 'dems' part of the CONdems, thanks folks ......................................... again !

Transferring that cost to householders requires the retrofitting 80 existing buildings to a band A level EPC needs to happen every 60 minutes for the next 40 years. Its nothing more than a carbon trading scheme for individuals, brought in through the back door and directly paid for on interest accruing credit by homeowners, a kind of governmental individualised version of a PFI.

Note02 : management of the transitional promotional arm of the industry thanks Ecodave for his diligent and herculean one-man efforts to raise awareness .. .. your cheque is in the post Ecodave, less 7% interest, redeemable in 25 years.

Note3 : no seriously .. .. you are here, and other forums for one purpose only, to 'spread the word' about the new program. Paid, er no idea, but I must assume therefore you are for the moment. Like all seeming evangelist [ Join Date: 29-01-2013 ] first time posters again I assume you've been here before under a different nym. Thus far no attempt to get the unwary into private messaging and no hidden URL's in the contact info so behaviour is within the forum rules.

Its a forum Dave, here is one opinion :

- I'd be terrified if you "rolled up to their door" and talked your way into .. ..
- one of my family's homes, old or young, particularly old
- you would not leave until you wore them down to the point of exhaustion and a contract was signed
- I've no doubt you would offer to rev~up their walking frame and drive them through a wet cold night to the bank
- to ensure a cash deposit, as well as a signature was obtained before leaving the property

Even I would give up the will to live, pay you your ransom to get my home & life back, then immediately cancel the contract and call my solicitor and trading standards within minutes of gaining my freedom. This whole thread stinks of 'direct pressure selling'. Selling that would happen to anyone you came into contact with, no matter how vulnerable they were, you would I'm sure be able to justify the sale and pocket the 'pieces of silver'.

Wind .. .. another taxpayer transfer emissions scam, just like the Green Deal'.

- two brothers David and the numptie sibling Ed, it was Ed that agreed the scheme
- but it was the CONdems that put it into motion in March 2 years ago
- energy bills consistently hiked thanks to a series of dodgy wind energy contracts 'Gummered' through the corridors of power
- taxpayers money, draining away on wind contracts while most households posting here are pushed to the limit
- £17 billion of your money stacked in the favour of turbine manufacturers
- Maggie Hodge was right describing the situation as a money printing ‘license for the private sector
- the energy department has reluctantly admitted they will have to ‘re-examine some of the terms’
- but the energy department cant see how taxpayers can avoid having to stump up for DECC’s failings

Ring a loud bell does it ?

- now there's Ecodave and the Green Schemer
- the government need another 15% of wind energy, that's about £8 billion of infrastructure investment they don't have

Hang on .. .. if we stop supplying free etc 'low hanging fruit' and get the Green Deal' off to a good start by conning the public .. .. again. By the time we need that £8 billion a lot of revenue will have been saved.

Ring a loud bell does it ?

So they awarded an opportunity and the industry took it with both hands and wrested control completely from government and now that the government know the taxpayers are being robbed for wind they say they "cant see how taxpayers can avoid having to stump up for DECC’s failings" In ten years time the Green Deal will be the same con on the public.

If anyone reading this thinks the 'Green Deal' is a good idea, you go for it my friends, Ecodave has a right to post, I have a right of reply, and its your right to subscribe to the empty~the~public's~pockets~again initiative.

- the lies and deceit has started already
- nice young fella knocks my door - leaflet - my boro council name on it clearly 'sponsoring' the seller
- no charge at all he says when I ask is it completely free as this leaflet says in big red letters

I rang the my boro council, after two hours they ring back and assure me they sponsor no one in the town, and asked for information from the leaflet.

I rang the leaflet number, after 7 goes at waffle he admitted its not free but paid back with interest, the bill transferred to the dwelling if sold.

- the lies and deceit has started already, how many poor, confused old and vulnerable will have signed before March arrives
- reading this ? - take care of your parents grandparents, and children, check they have not signed without reading this
- the lies and deceit and propaganda has started already

In the light of Ecodave's reference to the excellent defender of the public DECC in # 7 where he says """You will probably be aware of DECCs statement on this recently""" .... Is that the same DECC that the current government's energy department recently said of "cant see how taxpayers can avoid having to stump up for DECC’s failings" How many Department of Energy & Climate Change do we have in the UK, maybe there's more than one and Ecodave meant the 'other one'.

Social housing providers were always going to take advantage to improve the energy efficiency of their housing stock. This sector of housing provides natural opportunities to deliver at scale, with the cost-efficiencies that entails. The uptake in the social housing sector will be significantly higher, but starting at a higher [SAP 50 in private and SAP 60 in HA / LA properties] level, it will however decline much quicker than other sectors as opportunities for energy efficiency improvements are used up.

The transfer of cost in HB recipients terms in either direction is irrelevant in that :

Non-working HB ~v~ working HB

- state / taxpayer housing benefit [punitive interest rates] will fund the payback over time
- legacy debits on the Green Deal are transferable [all in the same boat]
- the costs of installation are paid for by being 'socialised' across all tenanted housing stock