10 Ways to Make Green Deal Better - Martin Lewis

SRE · Feb 7, 2013

Worth a look - I think he's hit the nail on the head - maybe Barking will listen to him!

Martin Lewis' Blog? | 10 changes that?d make the Green Deal more popular

Just been looking at the Martin Lewis Facebook page - he's encouraging people to comment on the bottom of the blog page as some "influential" people may be reading it.

If the 10 tips were implemented I could encourage all my solid wall properties to upgrade and then sell them solar -it's beneficial to us all to comment if possible.

Greenday · Feb 7, 2013

For the Green Deal to work why cant the government finance the interest part of the loan? They are setting an awful lot of barriers and complication that add no value for the customer.

The Green Deal wont work for most home owners unless they are hood winked by sales spiel. Local authorities will benefit especially via ECO funding and that is pretty well what the Green Deal seems to focusing on.

The wraps are barely off the scheme but its fooling no one. As an assessor and installer I hoped for better!

Berneray · Feb 7, 2013

Talking to the Green Deal Advisor we use earlier today and he has heard that DECC are considering allowing some of the Feed In Tariff to be factored into the Green Deal Plan software to release more Green Deal finance. Been told to expect an announcement next week apparently

finchy · Feb 7, 2013

added my comment ! .... Its all a bit too late, Greg didn't listen to us with FIT's

Just really cant see the point of the green deal, in this day and age people understand that poor insulation and energy performance = greater cost on fuel bills. So to improve on this people already know they have to insulated and/or improve/upgrade, it comes down to how much it costs getting a GDA costing £100 to tell you you need windows and insulation is daft.

The current system where if you want to remortgage to improve your house works, just need lower mortgage rates.

SolarCity · Feb 8, 2013

I was surprised to read that people going for the Green Deal will be subject to a credit check. This could seriously put a dent in the potential market. Why credit check the applicant when the debt is on the home?

TedM · Feb 8, 2013

This is why the Green Deal is expected to only be available to 80% of householders.

From http://www.nef.org.uk/actonCO2/pdfs/GDPG_CCL_WorkGroup_WorkingDocument_Aug2012.pdf

Credit check - Will be needed by GDP to meet CCA obligation and individuals could be refused GD loans. Again, this is not widely recognised in the GDP market. This obligation is not met by the energy supplier debt check or passing a golden rule calculation.

SRE · Feb 8, 2013

Ted do you know how long ago this meeting was? There seems to be a lot of things that haven't been resolved considering GD was launched on the 28th.

Another cautionary tale to add to GD woes. A colleague generated 1200 referrals for super priority groups at the direction of a utility company with the promise of GD/ECO work. Anyone who knows about this type of work will realise this is months of work - he's now been told there's no funding for these customers. He's dealt with utility companies and Cert funding for years so he knows what he's talking about. All that work - for nothing.

TedM · Feb 8, 2013

That was last August. I haven't found anything more recent but what the OFT were saying back then looked pretty definitive and unlikely to change.

As I think I said before about ECO - for 2 of the 3 sub-schemes the utility companies will be looking for the largest CO2 savings for the least amount of cost so if any leads don't meet their criteria they are going to be ignored. Without digging in to the figures I'm guessing all they will want will be draught-proofing, loft and CWI.

SRE · Feb 8, 2013

TedM said:
That was last August. I haven't found anything more recent but what the OFT were saying back then looked pretty definitive and unlikely to change.

As I think I said before about ECO - for 2 of the 3 sub-schemes the utility companies will be looking for the largest CO2 savings for the least amount of cost so if any leads don't meet their criteria they are going to be ignored. Without digging in to the figures I'm guessing all they will want will be draught-proofing, loft and CWI.

Thanks Ted, the referrals I mentioned were all loft insulation with some boiler replacements so pretty high on the CO2 savings as I remember. Energy efficiency/renewables seems to be a tricky business to be in at the moment - seems ironic really with fuel prices being hiked the way they are - it should be a boom business.

SRE · Feb 8, 2013

Nationwide looks set to launch a Green Additional borrowing loan from 2.29% Nationwide launches new green home loan - 08 Feb 2013 - News from BusinessGreen could be interesting.

finchy · Feb 10, 2013

So why do you need all the Green Deal ***** if your mortgage company will offer you a loan. Surely Jo-public realise if they need new windows or have poor insulation, then they get various quotes for the work and make a informed decision....green deal would always be more expensive either through high interest rates or Admin !

As for landlords if there tenants are paying without a fuss then why incur hassle, however Tenants will pay more either through same rent but increase in Energy bills (as the Predictions will never save the money that is quoted) or increase rent as the landlord wants a return on the increased investment !

SRE · Feb 10, 2013

I'm worried as a landlord that my solid wall D rated houses could be forced to have solid wall insulation. I don't want it but by 2016 (I think) I'm not going to have the right to refuse if my tenants want it installed.