Martin Lewis @MartinSlewis
The Government’s new Green Homes Grant scheme may provide serious free cash for insulation, double glazing, and a host of other things that will improve the energy efficiency of your home and your home’s value.
The main points of The Green Homes Grant are:-
It is available to all English homeowners (including park homes) and residential landlords apart from unoccupied new builds.
It gives grants (ie non repayable) of up to £5,000 per household to cover two thirds of the cost of labour, materials, and VAT of installing certain energy efficient measures.
Those on certain benefits can claim up to £10,000, which covers the entire cost.
You only have until 31 March 2021 to get the installation completed.
However, this scheme isn’t simply a case of you get what you want. There are two categories of home improvements which interrelate.
You must install a PRIMARY improvement
You can only access the scheme if you need what the Government calls a ‘primary’ improvement. These must be new or a top up, not a replacement for existing. These are:
• Insulation: including solid wall, cavity wall, underfloor, loft or roof. Insulation for a park home is also included.
Low-carbon heating: including air-source, ground-source and hybrid heat pumps, solar thermal systems and biomass boilers, which provide renewable ways of heating your home.
You can install more than one improvement (and they can be via different tradespeople) but the total voucher you’ll receive is maximum £5,000.
If you get a primary instalment you can get up to the same amount for SECONDARY improvements.
Once you’ve installed the primary improvement, you’ll then be able to get a voucher up to the same amount for a secondary improvement. These include…
Windows & doors… draught proofing, double/triple/secondary glazing (only if replacing single), energy efficient replacement doors.
Heating controls & insulation… hot water tank thermostat & insulation, smart heating controls, thermostatic radiator valves etc.
How to apply for the vouchers.
Use the www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk eligibility checker, to see what may be available to you. It’ll show registered local tradespeople (who must be Trustmark or Microgeneration Certification Scheme registered).
Then get quotes from tradespeople – the Government recommends at least three. Try to avoid any firms that ask you to pay for quotes. And do check prices compared to doing it outside the scheme. Plus, it’s worth noting that installers can’t ask for a deposit larger than your contribution.
Only then can you apply via www.gov.uk/apply-green-homes-grant. If successful you’ll then be emailed a voucher. And ensure you only start the work once you’ve received the voucher, as the Government says you can’t claim for any work that’s started before the voucher is issued.
However, the scheme isn’t flawless. Whilst it may provide serious free cash, there are three major issues I keep hearing about: firstly, many people want ‘secondary improvements’ without getting ‘primary ones’. However, this isn’t an option; the grants are deliberately designed to encourage people to improve insulation and low-carbon heating measures; secondly, it can be difficult to find approved local installers; and thirdly, some of those who do find an installer are then being told they won’t be able to complete the work within the deadline, rendering the scheme useless.
The last two points above are both symptoms of the fact there weren’t enough registered installers on stream at launch. The Government tells me that they are constantly working to add more and that makes sense – ultimately the primary stated purpose of offering the Green Homes Grant was to create jobs.
Many may think: ‘No problem, I’ll just wait until more installers are on board, it’ll be fine’. Except there is only £2 billion of funding available, and while that sounds a lot, it could go very quickly – so there is an urgency to doing this, but not enough installers. It’s a vicious circle.
My hope is that the Government will spread the roll out and extend the installation time so more people can access this; for details and updates visit www.moneysavingexpert.com/GreenGrants.