Green Deal MSE Guide Discussion

Richie-from-the-Boro

Deleted_User wrote: »

I am low income just not entitled to benefits due to living on own and owning own home.

As I said in #570 if your postcode is in here, you get the free help under the Carbon Saving Community Obligation use this to work out how to use the look-up tool. The Carbon Saving Community Obligation is on geographic average earnings area not an individual's personal household income.

Best of luck.

John_Pierpoint

How I hate !!!! written by civil servants and their acolytes.
Once upon a time I tried to digest the British Nationality Act and decided it had been written to make sure nobody without a mother tongue of English could begin to understand it.
Perhaps the Carbon Saving Community Obligation document is written to disguise a tax and discourage claims?

The 4 letter acronym LSOA is repeatedly used and close inspection reveals that this translates to ‘Lower Layer Super Output Area'; this might as well say that it identifies areas where the residents have to be LGM (Little Green Men) to qualify for a grant.

Then the worked example uses the City of Westminster as the demonstration area, not somewhere with which a deprived citizen would instantly empathise.

So far I have spent an hour trying to understand these instructions and now have to leave.

I will be back to continue this one step forwards two steps back procedure.

Update: I managed to work my way through the post code to local authority area translator and I am still not absolutely sure what qualifies as deprived/rural, but if you want to try again with a postcode that does qualify try this one NE24 1SB.

Personally I live in "The Edgelands" - I have no gas supply and not even mains drainage but the area checker defines me as living in a settlement of > 10k.



http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Acolytes

Ecodave

loopyloouk wrote: »

hi, wondered if someone could advise:-

we were contacted by a company called yor green deal for my elderly uncle who advised they could install him a complete new system for free etc. They came out and carried out an assessment took pictures of the deeds to his property, his pension credits, his ni number.

no correspondence or info since, i have chased them up and have now been told he is not eligible for this.

does this sound a bit dodgy? and what happens to his personal info, i have asked if they are data protection registered but have received no response



thanks

Hi Loopyloouk,

Sounds like the company were looking to install under the Energy Company Obligation, as that is the scheme that provides free replacement boilers for people on certain benefits. If your uncle is on pension credit, then he will certainly qualify. What type of heating system does he have at present? If it is a gas boiler to radiators system, then I can't understand him being turned away. Perhaps try another installer?

Note: qualified energy assessors must comply with data protection legislation, did the assessor show an ID badge and explain that he is accredited to carry out the assessment?

loopyloouk

hi thanks ecodave, he does not have any heating at the moment apart from a gas fire. They advised it would cost more than they could claim to fit the heating system.

any ideas?
thanks

Ecodave

I would be tempted to approach an energy company directly. They may be more willing to install your uncles boiler. Whilst they will be concerned about the overall cost of the install, they are also interested in the calculated savings that a new boiler would make to your uncles heating costs (as that is what they can claim against their ECO targets). Am not sure about how the lack of a current heating system affects things, the scheme does talk about "replacement" boilers, it may be that you need a current heating system to qualify. Call the energy company, they will know.

[Deleted User]

I think it is "like for like" where heating is concerned. Even on an EPC certificate, if you have solid fuel heating, it won't recommend gas or anything else to save money or the environment. But it will recommend you fit solar panels and change your light bulbs. ...Weird

Russboy123

Hi all,

I've recently arranged some finance for home improvements, but as usual that finance is being stretched. I've already got a quote for my windows, but if I could arrange some sort of deal with the government then this would allow me to spend more on other renovations.

My first question is, do you have to implement all of the changes recommended by the assessor? Secondly, I'm assuming the whole thing is a fairly lengthy process?

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.

Ecodave

Q.1 - no, you can implement some, one, all or none of the recommendations.
Q.2 - it appears to be a lengthy process right now, as the finance behind Green Deal has only recently come through, so there are large backlogs of assessments being processed. There should not be a significant delay to Green Deal plans once this has been cleared.

More importantly, windows will only be part financed under Green Deal. They just don't save enough energy to cover the cost of the repayments. You would also be getting quotes from a small pool of suppliers, that will probably only include the big names, who charge the most already! Green Deal is really about insulation, boilers and renewable energy measures (even these are only part financed, but at least tend to have a tariff payment to make them sweeter).

If you want to press on anyway, the assessment will probably cost you £150.

Ecodave

Deleted_User wrote: »

Even on an EPC certificate, if you have solid fuel heating, it won't recommend gas or anything else to save money or the environment. But it will recommend you fit solar panels and change your light bulbs. ...Weird

Sorry Lee, but that's not correct. Please see Appendix T of RdSap, item T.

John_Pierpoint

But have you see the statistics for getting gas installed to a site without any gas supply - not to mention the costs and enthusiasm displayed by the agencies of National Grid ?

If "fracking" turns out to produce a surplus of gas, only then will there be a change in the above factors.