New Green Homes Grant to give up to £5,000 in vouchers for insulation and double-glazing

Frith

This isn’t easy, is it?!

My quotation arrived today, so I completed the application form. One step forward...

rajanm

Sarn_B_T said:

Sarn_B_T said:

USE INSTAGROUP IF YOU CAN  -  read my story..........

So I have been looking into this grant opportunity on behalf of my mum and have struggled like so many people in finding installers in the area, people willing to come to the house and then being given reasonable prices. Why the government didn't set price brackets for the traders who sign up is beyond me. You google cavity wall insulation uk average cost and it suggests £450-£750 yet the quotes coming in are triple that!!

Anyway I am going off topic and ranting! The primary measures my mum would qualify for are cavity wall insulation and loft insulation. There is already some floor insulation in the loft and boarding but I am sure it can be improved. I don't believe there is any cavity wall insulation but my mum thinks there might be.

I tried about 8 companies in reasonable distance of the Hertfordshire area, most asked for email details so they could send a quote, when I suggested it might be better if they came to view first they said they were too busy to do this and all prices would be standard anyway.

When I said I wasn't certain about cavity wall and as there was no EPC on the house they said they would just quote for it but really I wanted to understand if this was needed. Some companies told me I must have it as the neighbours did!! Other companies asked me to take multiple photos of the outside of the house and the loft space to send to them first, so to basically do their job for them!

In the end I managed to get 3 quotes back and after that pretty much gave up persisting with the others. None of these companies came to the house and the total price for the loft and wall insulation ranged from £2,800-£3,900 so I chose the company with the best reviews I could find online and submitted an application using their trademark reference.

However I was curious then and during this time I also looked at Icynene spray foam insulation, I know this isn't included n the grant, but at the crazy prices I was getting for normal loft insulation I wondered if this may be a better option. So I contacted a few more companies, had two people come out and give quotes. I then spent some more time researching this option and decided it wasn't for us.

Yesterday then was the final company I had booked and to be honest I had forgotten if it was for the non green home grant foam spray or a company about cavity and normal loft insulation but as I had only made the decision about not using spray foam on Thursday evening I thought it was too late to cancel so I would just let them come out.

Thank goodness I did!! So I am not even sure how or when I contacted Instagroup as I feel like I have been at this task all month but it turns out they were here for the cavity and normal loft insulation. So they were the only company I have contacted who bothered to come out. They were here for two hours (that seems excessive but it was because one was a week into the job and being trained by a very thorough supervisor), they drilled small holes into each side of the house and looked in with a camera before filling the holes back up.

They took multiple photos, measurements, spent time explaining what they were doing, why, talked through the results (no cavity wall insulation basically), how the job would be carried out, why a vent would be needed due to the open fire, no corner was cut.

Then they went up into the loft, assessed the current insulation, explained the options. Even gave a non-biased opinion on spray foam and concurred with my conclusion that although effective for the reasons my mum uses the loft it was probably not necessary.

So while all this was going on I was thinking, this is great, they are so professional, I really trust this company but what price am I going to put on that as based on the other quotes I was expecting a quote of £4,500-£6.000.

So at 7pm on a Friday evening, 2 hours after they arrived we got to the pricing. So bear in mind that the other three quotes were between £2,800-£3,900 and Instagroup were the only company to come out, do a true survey and spend time assessing the property and they came in at ............£1500!!!!!!!

So a totally professional company compared to anyone else I have encountered in this journey and who I hope I will be able to get to carry out the work. Now I have submitted a query to cancel or amend my initial application so just have to see how that goes but I will not be proceeding with any of the other cowboys.

Has anyone had experience/success at amending your application?

Just to follow up on this I made an enquiry as to how to cancel my first application and was advised that submitting a second would just void the first. I gave them both reference numbers to confirm and yes, the first one had been cancelled and the second one was live.

They did give me this update too though which may be useful to some of you......

You will receive an email notifying you when your application is online and available for you to access. This email will provide steps to create unique login credentials. You can expect to see emails allowing self-service access to your online application after 30th November. Vouchers are starting to be issued from early November.

I did question that surely access should be given after 30th October and not November but was told that no, these dates were correct!

I am actually using Saving Energy who I was put in touch with via Instagroup and I had the same experience.  Cavity Wall and Loft Insulation has come to a total of around £2k before all of the vouchers which, judging by the comments on this site, seems to be a good deal.  They've been very clear in their communication and I have some provisional installation dates put in.  If the installation goes well, I will be v happy

highnal

I've received the following reply today:

Thank you for taking part in the Green Homes Grant Scheme. Your application, reference number XXXXXXX, has been selected for an on-site pre-installation inspection. The purpose of this inspection is to further verify eligibility under the Green Homes Grant Scheme. We will be contact you within 2 working days to schedule the visit.

Why are installation inspections necessary?

Inspections are required as part of our routine checks to confirm that installations meet eligibility requirements of the Green Homes Grant Scheme.

If everyone is subject to this pre-installation check, it's going to add a further lag to the application process.

If it's not everyone, why have I been selected?! Anyone else get this?

Mintyrbc

highnal said:

I've received the following reply today:

Thank you for taking part in the Green Homes Grant Scheme. Your application, reference number XXXXXXX, has been selected for an on-site pre-installation inspection. The purpose of this inspection is to further verify eligibility under the Green Homes Grant Scheme. We will be contact you within 2 working days to schedule the visit.

Why are installation inspections necessary?

Inspections are required as part of our routine checks to confirm that installations meet eligibility requirements of the Green Homes Grant Scheme.

If everyone is subject to this pre-installation check, it's going to add a further lag to the application process.

If it's not everyone, why have I been selected?! Anyone else get this?

I had this. Inspector came to our house 2 days after receiving this mail. took about 20 mins. They wanted to make sure we had a genuine claim and the house was suitable for an Air Source Heat Pump. The green home grant customer service team confirmed that we are in a selection of people chosen before the system goes fully live.

highnal

Mintyrbc said:

I had this. Inspector came to our house 2 days after receiving this mail. took about 20 mins. They wanted to make sure we had a genuine claim and the house was suitable for an Air Source Heat Pump. The green home grant customer service team confirmed that we are in a selection of people chosen before the system goes fully live.

Good to know - thanks!

Julia9CA

Sarn_B_T said:

mickvc said:

Sarn_B_T  Who did you contact about your applications? Do you have an e mail address for them?  

I initially filled out the enquiry form on the website - https:// green-homes-grant.service.gov.uk/contact
but then the subsequent email replies were to - customer@green-homes-grant.service.gov.uk
Hope that helps :-)

I tried this on the 7th of October.  Received a reply to wait 7-10 working days.  I tried this again on the 14th of October.  They advised: "We are receiving an extremely high volume of applications at the moment and this has meant there may be a slight delay in a confirmation email being sent out. Please continue to check your emails (including Spam/Junk), and it should be with you in due course."
I will try contacting them again today about not receiving a confirmation email for an application sent on the 30th of September, but I assume they are completely swamped!

AngelaJane68

Another one that is having no luck!  Despite contacting Somerset loft insulation installers back in August, I have just heard from the only one who returned my calls - told me that they are booked up until end of March now and have only private work available (starting next week as there has been a delay in GHG vouchers being issued ).  Back to square one, and don't even get me started on the secondary measures!  The gov needs to extend the timeline, especially with the delays.  Have emailed GHG with my complaints.  What an absolute farce of a scheme.

Slogster

Difficulty finding smart heating control suppliers in Great Yarmouth area, have just decided to apply for one of the main measures to get application started. Have been told can make amendments after the 30th NOV so if we can find installers between now & then it will be a bonus. Just concerned I’ve phoned 22 suppliers already most not based anywhere near! Some have closed lists, some say they do it when they aren’t! Some don’t answer phone at all, finding it all frustrating! If we only get main measure installed before the short deadline, we will be happy, but after reading all the reports, we have a feeling we will miss out!

Deblio

Most of the North are now in tier 3 lockdown.  I am lucky in that I have a very local company who can install underfloor insulation, loft insulation and an energy efficient door.  My concern is whether this will be completed before the end of March because of the tier 3 restrictions.   Would like to see the government extend the end date to give companies and households more time to ensure work is completed. And help the economy. 

Julia9CA

Hooray!  Applied early in the morning on the 30th of September, received no confirmation email, sent numerous emails over the past month requesting confirmation (including to customer@green-homes-grant.service.gov.uk), and NOW have received confirmation - yes, they definitely have my application!

I feel like celebrating tonight!