The Green Deal

How will the Green Deal work?

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The Green Deal will allow householders to make ‘cost effective’ energy efficiency improvements to their home at no upfront cost. The starting point is likely to be a customer enquiry which could be made online, over the phone, or in a store such as a supermarket or home improvement store. In addition, DECC hope that existing tradesmen who visit properties may be willing to recommend Green Deal.


Role of Green Deal Provider

The Green Deal provider will be the key contact in a customer’s Green Deal journey. They will be responsible for providing the finance and arranging the installation of the package of measures the customer chooses. They will also be the counter-signatory to the ‘Green Deal Plan’; the credit agreement which sits between the customer and Green Deal provider setting out requirements and obligations on both sides. If Green Deal providers wish to offer a cash incentive to attract customers, they will be limited to offering either 5% of the total cost of the Green Deal package or £150, whichever is less.

The Green Deal Provider is responsible for:

1. Offering a Green Deal Plan to customers, based on recommendations from a Green Deal assessor

2. Ensuring that the energy efficiency works are carried out by an authorised Green Deal installer

3. On-going obligations in relation to Green Deal plans, including dealing with customer complaints, guarantees and warrantees

 

Setting up a Green Deal

Once the customer has made an enquiry with a Green Deal provider, a Green Deal Assessor will visit the property and provide recommendations on measures that would suit the property are Green Deal eligible. The Green Deal Assessment may be undertaken by an independent assessor or appointed by the Green Deal Provider.

Following assessment, the Green Deal Provider will offer the customer a quote for installation of some or all of the measures, and then assuming that this is accepted, a Green Deal Plan will be created. Customers may also shop around following the quote, and indeed if the measures to be installed are likely to cost over £10,000 the customer will be obliged to obtain 3 different quotes. Once a Green Deal Plan has been agreed between a customer and a Green Deal Provider, the Green Deal Provider will arrange for the installation of the measures, and once completed repayments can begin via the energy bill.

What measures will be available in the Green Deal?

The list of measures in RdSAP has been used to create the list of qualifying Green Deal energy improvements for domestic properties. Being modelled in RdSAP also means the measure can be recommended by Green Deal assessors.

    Air source heat pumps
    Internal wall insulation
    Biomass boilers
    Lighting systems fittings and controls
    Biomass room heater (with radiators)
    Loft or rafter insulation and loft hatch insulation
    Cavity wall insulation
    Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
    Cylinder thermostats
    Micro combined heat and power
    Draught proofing
    Micro wind generation
    Energy efficient glazing
    Oil-fired condensing boilers
    External wall insulation
    Photovoltaics
    Fan-assisted replacement storage heaters
    Roof insulation
    Flue gas heat recovery devices
    Room in roof insulation
    Ground source heat pumps
    Solar water heating
    High efficiency replacement warm-air units
    Under-floor heating
    High thermal performance external doors
    Under-floor insulation
    Hot water cylinder insulation
    Waste water heat recovery devices attached to showers

The Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) will form the basis for the assessment of non-domestic properties and assessors have much greater flexibility to recommend appropriate measures to reflect the wider range of non-domestic building types.

The consultation proposed that new measures can become Green Deal Eligible by going through the‘Appendix Q’ process of SAP. Measures must have been recommended during the Green Deal Assessment by the assessor in order to be installed using Green Deal finance to ensure the measures installed are appropriate for the building in question.

Where a package includes a measure which is particularly cost-effective, the Green Deal Provider may be able to rely on the savings likely to be generated by that improvement to finance some slightly less cost- effective improvements under the Green Deal Plan which would otherwise have required top up finance from another source.

Energy Company Obligation (ECO)

The ECO is due to replace the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and Community Energy Savings Programme which have been the major vehicle for energy efficiency delivery over the past four years. The Government anticipates that delivering on its targets for ECO will require an annualised investment by energy suppliers of ~£1.3bn, and that the ECO will last for 10 years. The £1.3bn funding pot will be financed via energy bills and divided between the two targets below: 75% to Carbon Saving and 5% to Affordable Warmth.

What is needed for accreditation as a Green Deal installer?

Microgeneration Certification Scheme and Gas Safe Certification are enough to allow you to be a ‘Green Deal Installer’ of the respective technologies. Currently a PAS 2030 document is being written which outlines standards that installers must be accredited to in order to be “Green Deal approved”. For installation, a consumer can choose to go directly to a Green Deal provider who contracts the supply chain of installers, or they can go to an independent installer to carry out the work.

Source JD Associates

What are the training courses associated with the Green Deal?

In order to be a Green Deal Installer operatives will have to demonstrate competence and qualifications in the chosen technology. For example to install Solar PV the company would have to be MCS registered and the installation engineer qualified in Solar PV and electrics.

Both Non-domestic (commercial) and domestic Green Deal assessors will have to be a qualified Domestic or Non-domestic energy assessor before they undertake the Green Deal Assessor training. PPL offer both this energy assessing training courses.

City & Guilds along with other awarding bodies are releasing a number of Green Deal training courses from June 2012. These will include:

•     City & Guilds 6066 Domestic Green Deal Assessor
•     City & Guilds 6066 Non-Domestic Green Deal Assessor
•     City & Guilds 6066 Green Deal Remote Advice

PPL will be delivering these as soon as they are released on the QCF in June. If you are interested in being the first to train please register you interest below:

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST HERE AND RECEIVE £50 IN GREEN DEAL TRAINING VOUCHERS (Simply put 'Green Deal' in comments box on the brochure request page)*

* Terms and Conditions Apply - please contact is on 0845 2600 966 for more details.