Green Deal and ECO

The Green Deal is a government backed initiative that can help you understand the energy-saving improvements you can make to your home. It can also help you find companies to carry out the work, and give you access to a number of options for paying for the improvements, including Green Deal finance.

The first step in getting improvements through the Green Deal will usually be to get a Green Deal Assessment.

Green Deal Assessment

You will need an EPC which is less than two years old (limited to the recommendations in the report), or an authorised Green Deal Assessor company to carry out a more detailed assessment. They will send an advisor to visit your home and produce a Green Deal Advice Report listing the improvements that are possible, and which of these are likely to be cost-effective. You will usually have to pay for this.

Green Deal Home Improvement Fund

The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund can give you cashback if you install certain eligible insulation and heating improvements in your home such as wall insulation and replacement gas boilers. Find out about support currently available and how to apply. Make sure you apply before carrying out any work or you won't be able to claim.

Green Deal finance

A private company, known as a Green Deal Provider, provides a loan to pay for some or all of the cost of installing energy improvements in your home, as well as arranging the installation itself. You then repay the loan, which will include interest, through a charge added to your electricity bill. The amount you can borrow is limited by what a typical energy user might save on their energy bills from installing the improvements - so a Green Deal loan may not cover the full cost of the installation.

Where can I get more information?

You can find more information on all aspects of the Green Deal by contacting the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234. You can find further details and search here for assessors, providers and installers.

The ECO (Energy Company Obligation)
Under ECO, the big six energy suppliers are required to help householders save on their energy bills and carbon emissions.

Affordable Warmth Obligation
To provide heating and insulation improvements for low-income and vulnerable households (social housing tenants are not eligible for affordable warmth). There are complex eligibility criteria for this means-tested scheme. Call the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234 to check whether you might be eligible, and to apply if you are.

Carbon Saving Obligation
To provide funding to insulate solid-walled properties (internal and external wall insulation) and those with ‘hard-to-treat’ cavity walls. This is not means-tested but can be used in conjunction with the Green Deal. The aim is to provide enough support to make these relatively expensive measures cost-effective.

Carbon Saving Communities Obligation
To provide insulation measures to people living in the bottom 15 per cent of the UK's most deprived areas. It is expected that this element of ECO will particularly benefit the social housing sector.

information supplied by; http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk