Green Deal Assessor

nobleian

Hi all
I am wanting to have a green deal assessment done, but there seems to be so many organisations oput there, I am at a loss of whom to use. I was going to go with British Gas, because they are are a well known company, but reports on this site are not that favourable.
Can anyone recommend any organisation to do an assessment.
Thanks
Ian

Ecodave

Hi Nobleian,

I would suggest that you contact the GDAA, they are an organisation that has been involved in the Green Deal from the planning stages. The people that run the organisation are very experienced in energy assessing, and the advisors that work with them are likely to have been trained to a higher standard than an average advisor, as they insist on some up-skilling before the GDA is taken on. Their contact details can be found on the greendealorb website, along with another 113 companies offering the Green Deal Advice service. Search under the "green deal assessors" tab once at the website, they are currently listed on page 6.

Out of interest, what measures do you anticipate being able to install at your home?

macman

BG will be using independent sub-contractors, like everyone else.

Ecodave

I understand from a mate who works for BG that they have put large numbers of their own staff through the training to become a GDA so in fact they won't be subbing this work out.

croninsfc

Does anybody know if you should have to pay for the assessment. I have been told by one of the companies who I contacted, Toriga-energy that it will cost £120 to have the full assessment following an online pre-assessment?
Sounds like a rip-off right from the start!

Ecodave

There are some companies who will offer a free assessment, but I think this may be conditional on the company getting the contract for any work. These companies are basically hiding the assessment charge within the bill that you ultimately pay. The pre-assessment should establish whether or not there are likely to be improvements that could be offered, so means that you shouldn't end up paying for an assessment that produces no recommendations.

A slight plus in the assessment is that you end up with an EPC which is valid for 10 years. These tend to cost £70 to £100. So if your house has not got one, and you think you might be likely to move in the next 10 years, then it becomes worthwhile.

croninsfc

nobleian wrote: »

Hi all
I am wanting to have a green deal assessment done, but there seems to be so many organisations oput there, I am at a loss of whom to use. I was going to go with British Gas, because they are are a well known company, but reports on this site are not that favourable.
Can anyone recommend any organisation to do an assessment.
Thanks
Ian

British Gas on the other hand charge £99 for the assessment. At least it is cheaper that Toriga at £120. Interesting article on the Which website with makes the point that the Green Deal is not government backed financially, so all these providers/assessors are out to maximize profit on a scheme which on the face of it is government backed.
Which points out that it may be cheaper just to use your own cash to make any improvements.
Apparently the assessment is similar or maybe the same as the assessment for the EPC which you need in order to sell a house these days. I wonder if any of these assessing companies will issue you with an EPC so at least you get something for that cash which may otherwise be wasted if there are no Green Deal compatible improvements that can be made to your home.

Richie-from-the-Boro

- read the whole sticky put up by MSE

Winter_Phoenix

Croninsfc: As you're in Somerset, you may be able to get a FREE assessment if you act quickly. Contact the Centre for Sustainable Energy in Bristol (01179 341400 or 0800 0822234) and ask about the "Green Deal In Somerset" scheme. But you need to hurry, as the survey has to be carried out before 15th April. There is no obligation to have any of the work done once you have the survey report.

croninsfc

Yes I am in Somerset. I have found their website as well and am going to contact them to see if I qualify for a free assessment. I like the idea that they are independent, so presumably even if I had to pay for it, at least I suppose I would then be free to get quotes from any Green Deal installer.
Thanks for the tip.

croninsfc

Ecodave wrote: »

The pre-assessment should establish whether or not there are likely to be improvements that could be offered, so means that you shouldn't end up paying for an assessment that produces no recommendations.

I started filling out the pre-assessment for Toriga-Energy and towards the end and got to you where you have to accept the terms and conditions - on reading them it seemed like going any further would have committed to having the subsequent full assessment and therefore paying the charge - also seemed like they made it very difficult to cancel if you changed your mind, so I quit out of it.