£7600 Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF)

lackingwedge

captainhindsight wrote: »

By installing:
-external/external wall insulation 75% upto £6000 cashback
-two of: double glazing, cavity wall insulation, fan assisted storage heaters 100% upto £1000 cashback
-£500 having bought the house within the last 12 months
-£100 back for the assessment.

So you should be able to get the full £7600, it seems odd that there is not a recommendation regarding switching to main gas if it is available. I am guessing the assessor was not aware/did not select that mains gas was available to the property...

Yes, i thought it was missing something.
I did inform him that National Grid will be coming on the 23rd to install GAS and I will be putting in GAS Central Heating.

I have tried ringing some companies on the register and they don't seem too keen on coming out to do a quote. Is there still some uncertainty regarding the scheme?

captainhindsight_2

lackingwedge wrote: »

Yes, i thought it was missing something.
I did inform him that National Grid will be coming on the 23rd to install GAS and I will be putting in GAS Central Heating.

I have tried ringing some companies on the register and they don't seem too keen on coming out to do a quote. Is there still some uncertainty regarding the scheme?

This is not automatically available to all installers, they have to register with the scheme first. Some installers have had some trouble registering with the 'Home Improvement Fund' to offer the cash-back, I had to submit my application form about 5 times before I got acknowledgement of receipt of my application form..

Without this the installer cannot offer it to you, so this maybe the issue.

Thats the only hiccup I am aware of atm...

On Monday a webpage should be opening up to the public about all of this where you can register for your voucher which needs to be done before the installation. Hopefully on there they will list companies who are able to offer the GDHIF.

Smiley_Dan

Some updates to online info with a more home owner focus:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-green-deal-guide-to-the-green-deal-home-improvement-fund

Looks like you can now apply for the voucher here:

https://energy-saving-home-improvement-fund.service.gov.uk/

... but note you need your EPC/GDAR done first.

Takecareofthepennies

Do I understand correctly that you have to have TWO items from the list installed in order to qualify for the £1k max.? So if you had just one thing done, you would not qualify?

Smiley_Dan

It's looking that way, you have to choose two measures from the list as well.

captainhindsight_2

Takecareofthepennies wrote: »

Do I understand correctly that you have to have TWO items from the list installed in order to qualify for the £1k max.? So if you had just one thing done, you would not qualify?

Yes that is correct.

The two measures of the 12 available that are going to get used the most will be boiler & flue gas heat recovery. As this is the cheapest way to get the cashback

There are boilers which meet these two measures in one unit.

This means install cost of boiler and cost of GDAR of around £2500 minus £1600-£1100 cashback leaving as little as £900 - £1400 end cost.

Smiley_Dan

So... what if you only need one measure?

prowla

The biggest chunk of the headline number is up to £6k towards solid wall insulation. Since that will be quite specific to certain houses, and total more than that, I'm not sure what the uptake would be.

So then that leaves some up to £1000 items and a couple of oddments.

As I read it, several of those items which you can have up to £1000 towards would probably cost a lot more, so I suppose it's a good deal if there is something you needed doing anyway.

Actually, thinking about it, I need new front and back doors - would they be covered?

Also, what's floor insulation?

(Slightly random thinking out loud...)

Smiley_Dan

Yeah, external doors are covered, see https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/318160/Final_Consumer_Quick_Guide_WEB.pdf

Floor insulation is... insulation... in the... floor? Seriously, it's about insulating around floor material to make sure the floor itself is not used as a thermal bypass for energy out of the house. The type you need depends on your floor type - solid or suspended (to generalise).

captainhindsight_2

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

So... what if you only need one measure?

Solid wall insulation can be used on its own.

Of the list of 12, it must be two measures. If you only want one, and you cant cheaply add another measure on to what you are doing it probably wont be worth while.

The cheapest and easiest is probably the gas flue heat recovery, but this can only be fitted onto a combi boiler (new or existing).

Depending on what the first measure is it this could add £400-£800 to the install cost so could be worth it to get the min £1000 and you've added efficiency to your boiler.