The Green Deal loan: get £10,000 for making your home greener

If you want to improve your home's energy efficiency, the Government may have a stack of cash to help pay for it!

As many as 14 million homes in the UK will qualify for £10,000 loans to help improve their energy efficiency as part of a Government initiative.

The Government had previously said that homeowners could get as much as £6,500 to pay for the improvements but has now pledged to almost double that figure, in an attempt to improve the nation’s Green credentials.

So what is the cash for? And how do we go about claiming it?

The Green Deal

The Government’s Energy Bill is currently going through the House of Commons, and contains the flagship Green Deal plan. The Green Deal is basically the idea that homeowners and businesses can get funding for measures which will improve their property’s energy efficiency.

These measures include things like insulation, draught proofing, double glazing and cavity walls.

So if you want to get rid of your inefficient taps or out-of-date boilers, you may be able to use public cash to sort out the replacements.

Where the money comes from

The £10,000 that you may be able to get your hands on is a loan, but according to the brains behind the scheme it’s not one that should keep you up at night fretting over the repayments.

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Indeed, there will be no upfront costs. Instead you’ll pay the money back in the form of small charges on your energy bills over a 25-year period. But you won’t notice the money really, as your energy bills should be lower as a result of the improved energy efficiency of your home.

And should you move home, you won’t take that loan with you. Instead the new residents will take on the responsibility for repaying the money.

Finally, there’s a Golden Rule – repayments will not exceed the projected benefits delivered from the energy improvements. Then again, the last Government had a high-profile minister who talked of Golden Rules, only to spectacularly break them...

Who will qualify?

So how do you get some of that cash?

You will need to have your property assessed to see where your home’s energy efficiency can be improved. You will get some recommendations, and will be able to claim the cash to cover those specific improvements.

As a result, not all of us will be able to claim some of this money. However, the Government believes that by increasing the amount we can claim to £10,000, far more properties – including those larger and harder-to-insulate properties – will benefit.

Not Green enough

With excellent timing, the announcement follows a new poll which has found that the majority of the British public believe that on the Green issue, the Government has been all talk and not enough action.

According to a new YouGov poll, around two-thirds of us believe that the Government is not doing enough to improve the energy efficiency of the nation’s homes.

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And while the Green Deal has the potential to really make a difference, it won’t be up and running for a good few years yet, most likely 2015. So in the meantime, what can you do to improve the energy efficiency of your property?

Get a home energy check!

The Energy Saving Trust offers a great home energy check on its website, which can save you as much as £250 a year!

It’s a free survey that only takes a few minutes to fill in, and can identify some simple ways to improve the efficiency of your home.

Monitor your use

Many of us are pretty ignorant about just how much energy we are using – and more importantly, how much it’s costing us.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. You can make use of an energy monitor like the Owl to keep on top of exactly how much you’re using. I like the Owl monitor because it’s just so simple. You can see in real time how much you are saving by turning your TV off standby, or turning off a light.

Knowledge is power – when you can see exactly where you are using energy, and what it’s costing you, you can make educated decisions about what behavioural changes you can make that will make the biggest impact on your bills.

Home improvements

You don’t need to wait until 2015 to make use of Government cash for home improvements – there are already some grants and funding available for things like insulation or new boilers.

You can search to see whether you qualify for such a grant here.

Get a new energy deal

The sun may be out but that doesn’t mean you can forget about your energy tariff. Many providers have started cutting their cheapest tariffs and replacing them with far more expensive deals, so the time is right to find a new deal.

Check out Here comes the spring energy rip-off! for more.

The little things

Small changes to our everyday energy use can make a big difference too. Here are some of the simple things you can do to improve your energy efficiency.

• Turn your thermostat down. Reducing your room temperature by 1°C can cut your bill by as much as 10%.
• Don’t leave your laptop or mobile on charge all night.
• Only boil as much water as you need.
• Use energy saving lightbulbs – these last up to 10 times longer than ordinary ones.
• Always turn off the light when leaving a room.

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