The Green Deal – An Overview
for the Supply Chain
The energy efficiency sector in Great Britain has made a significant contribution to
the economy over the recent decade. The sector has also helped millions of people
improve their homes and businesses, make them more efficient to run, nicer to live in
and in many cases, improving the appearance. By January 2012 almost two thirds
of homes had their cavity walls insulated and the vast majority of properties have at
least some insulation in their lofts.
However, there are millions of British homes
and businesses still requiring energy
efficiency measures. For companies like
you, this means that there is a great
opportunity to get involved in improving our
building stock. The Green Deal will give the
energy efficiency sector a much needed
boost and has the potential to support tens
of thousands of jobs.
Millions of homes aren’t fully
double-glazed.
More than half don’t have
enough insulation or an
efficient condensing boiler.
Most don’t have proper
heating controls.
The Green Deal is broad in scope and will support a range of sectors including the
insulation, heating, lighting, glazing and Microgeneration sectors. Over time, it will
drive innovation within the market, so that the range of different energy efficiency
solutions available to customers will increase as new technologies are brought to
market.
It will help consumers keep their properties warm and cosy, reduce the amount of
gas and electricity they need and keep heating bills down. It will also help to
maximise the contribution of the energy efficiency sector in reducing carbon
emissions in Great Britain.
The Green Deal is an innovative new financing mechanism that will help bill payers
make energy-saving improvements. People will be able to pay for some or all of the
work done to their property using the financial savings expected to be made on their
energy bill. The Energy Company Obligation, a subsidy of around £1.3 billion per
year from energy suppliers, will provide extra help for those most in need and for
properties that are harder to treat.
By removing some or all of the up-front costs to installing energy efficiency
improvements, we will help to drive demand and make it easier for customers to
make the improvements they want, using the companies they want – this could
mean using the services of local companies or high-street brands.
Ensuring there is a highly skilled and quality assured workforce is also an essential
part of driving demand and increasing consumer confidence in taking up measures.
Qualified and authorised assessors, installers and a new kind of company called a
Green Deal Provider will work in collaboration to deliver the right energy efficiency
improvements in people’s properties.
The Green Deal has been designed to allow for a number of different business
models to develop in this new market and it is open to any company provided they
meet the consumer protection requirements. This means SMEs as well as larger
companies.
The Green Deal Process in a nutshell
The Green Deal helps people pay for home improvements through savings on their
energy bills.
Assessm
ent
Finance
Installati
on
Repayme
nts and
follow
up
Every Green Deal begins with a Green Deal assessment. No one will be able to
enter into a Green Deal plan without a qualifying assessment of the building and
recommendations on which measures could improve the energy efficiency of their
home. These will be carried out by a qualified and registered Green Deal Advisor.
An organisation called the Green Deal Provider will play a central role in the Green
Deal process. Their main role is to arrange the Green Deal finance for the carrying
out of agreed Green Deal works for the customer.
Once a building has had an assessment and the finance for measures has been
approved, installation is the next step. Only an authorised Green Deal Installer can
install energy efficiency improvements under the Green Deal finance mechanism.
The cost of the measures is then paid back over the long term (up to 25 years
depending on the measure) through repayments made via electricity bills. The
customer’s energy supplier will pass the Green Deal repayments to the Green Deal
provider. The cost of the repayments will be equal to or less than the likely energy
bill savings.
Further information can be found at DECC’s website.
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/green_deal/green_deal.aspx