Green Deal MSE Guide Discussion

savage80

I have just bought a house which doesn't have any heating.

Can anyone advise if the government green grant scheme applies to everyone or only people on benefits?

I have phoned the number and they have sent me a list of local companies who are working with the scheme. Once I have moved in I will start getting quotes but unsure how it works and if we can qualify as we work.

Ecodave

Hi savage80,

The Green Deal isn't a grant scheme. It's a financing mechanism, you end up paying for everything, plus the profits of the companies installing the measures. It is open to any household with an electricity meter.

It runs alongside the Energy Company Obligation, which is a grant scheme. New heating systems are unlikely to be covered where the occupant is not on benefits.

spacemanc

znbmum - I think the assessor should have classed your house as electric heaters. This would have classed your house as very inefficient which should then have opened up many options under Green Deal, including a new boiler.

If it wasn't for your husbands salary, you would get the boiler and all the rest totally free of charge under the ECO scheme. You're also in an unusual situation where you have a household income of over £25k and yet can't self fund a boiler which could probably be bought direct from an installer for under £1.5k.

The Green Deal roll out is a mess - people like yourself are paying for assessments when the scheme isn't even fully set up yet. You need to make sure your assessment is accurate (which it doesn't seem to be if he didn't ask to see bills etc), and then hold onto your assessment until the scheme is running properly. You should consider your GD assessment as access to a marketplace where you can choose what work to be done, and who does it. You can then take it to any provider to get the work done.

What is currently happening is that companies are using the scheme to only push their own products by their own installers, but as the scheme matures people will get a better understanding of their options - and more options will be on offer.

savage80 - the above applies to you too. The assessor should class your home as portable electric heaters, which should open up several options under Green Deal including a boiler. But if you can afford it, or you have access to normal credit (you said you just bought the house?) then you're probably better off paying for it yourself outside the scheme.

savage80

So I'm guessing if someone is on benefits they get help with the cost of a new boiler, loft insulation and cavity wall?

But as I and my partner are working we would not benefit

spacemanc

savage80 wrote: »

So I'm guessing if someone is on benefits they get help with the cost of a new boiler, loft insulation and cavity wall?

But as I and my partner are working we would not benefit

You would probably be offered all of the above, but you would pay the Green Deal finance rate (around 7%) and you would have to have it installed by Green Deal installers.

You would pay a lower rate of interest on a bank loan (Nationwide BS are offering a loan rate of 3% for green improvements) and you can then have the work done by installers outside the scheme, where prices will tend to be a lot cheaper.

Green deal is really for those on benefits or those without savings/credit rating to self fund the work.

znbmum

Thanks for the response.

I noticed when he finished the 'assessment' he had a various green and orange ticks .... green tick next to loft insulation and orange next to boiler. He said orange tick means funding can't be given.

As for being on over 25k and should be able to afford a new boiler privately. Well me and hubby bought our house 5 years ago when we were much better off financially so have a high mortgage which gobbles up most of his salary. I am on maternity but SMP has stopped and I won't be going back to work as childcare would gobble up all my salary. Our house is in neg equity & we have savings of only £1000 .... it's taken us 2 years to save that.

We have been quoted £5000 for new system as can't just get a boiler .... everything needs replacing.

znbmum

Savage .... I feel your despair, there seems to be no help for those who are not on benefits. Once again tax payers get kicked in the teeth.

Spacemanc... I will contact the assessor tomorrow and ask them if they can change it to electric heating. Do you know if I am allowed to get an assessment with a different company if I am not happy or do I contact an ombudsmen?
Also, do you know if there is a time limit as to how long they can take to send a certificate? Or whatever the next step should be. After he told me the result of the assessment he just walked out and said I would get something in the post in a couple of months.... does this sound right?

spacemanc

znbmum wrote: »

Thanks for the response.

I noticed when he finished the 'assessment' he had a various green and orange ticks .... green tick next to loft insulation and orange next to boiler. He said orange tick means funding can't be given.

We have been quoted £5000 for new system as can't just get a boiler .... everything needs replacing.

Orange tick does not mean that you won't get any funding - it means that it will only be part funded.

I have doubts about your assessment - he didn't understand what the ticks mean (and it's hardly rocket science), he didn't see your energy bills and I also suspect that he has classed your home as being gas heated due to your single gas fire.

Did you tell him your gas bill was £300 per quarter? If so it may have worked against you, because for a reasonable sized house that isn't outrageously excessive, but of course that would normally be the costs for heating the whole home! I don't think the software handles unusual cases like your own very well.

Also the £5k quotes you've received for replacement GCH seem pretty high (hard to know though, as every house is different) so it's well worth shopping around and stick to small local companies - the price you mentioned sounds like a British Gas quote, who tend to charge at least double the going rate!

znbmum

Thanks for the response. I am going to call the company who did the assessment in the morning.

paulmapp8306

spacemanc wrote: »

You're also in an unusual situation where you have a household income of over £25k and yet can't self fund a boiler which could probably be bought direct from an installer for under £1.5k.

Not really. Im currently on £37k and cant afford to finance a new boiler. A wife, two kids and a house does that to you. Im getting a new boiler in the summer as I have a lump sum coming in and I feel as my boiler is 20 years old its probably better to do it while I have the funds. If it wasnt for that lump, I wouldnt be changing.

But yes, British gas quoted £3200 on green deal - local installer is charging £1600 for the same install.

Green Deal is a massive rip off, only of value to those who need a boiler (because the old is broken) and have no money.