The Government wants to help you cut your energy bill!

The Government reckons the Green Deal will lead to increased energy efficiency and lower monthly bills. How will it work?

With the British winters becoming ever more snowy, it’s no wonder that so many of us are looking for ways to keep our energy bills as painless as possible. Our attempts haven’t been helped by providers ramping up the costs of the tariffs on offer, as we wrote about in 10 million energy bills rise.

However, now the Government is taking steps to help us cut the bills we face each month.

The Green Deal

As part of the Energy Bill, which is currently working its way through Parliament, the Government wants to launch the Green Deal, a plan to improve the energy efficiency of the nation’s properties.

The general idea is that the Government wants to encourage private businesses to offer individuals and other businesses improvements to their homes and offices with no upfront cost, instead recouping payments over time thanks to a charge on the user’s energy bill.

Receiving advice

Here’s how the Government hopes this will work.

Initially, homeowners, landlords and tenants will be offered tailored advice on just how their property’s energy efficiency can be improved. Quite who will be providing this advice remains a touch vague however. Energy firms will also be encouraged to provide generic information to customers at certain times (such as moving to a new house) to ensure they are aware of the scheme.

Landlords will be encouraged to voluntarily take advantage of the efficiency improvements, but if they don’t, there are plans to give the Energy Secretary the powers to force them to do so.

The next stage will involve an accredited adviser assessing the property and its energy performance, in order to work out where improvements can be made.

Paying for it

It’s up to the consumer how they pay for the improvement work. According to the Government’s literature on the Green Deal, you’re free to pay for it all yourself, up-front, which strikes me as somewhat unlikely in all honesty!

However, there is the option for the costs to be paid via your regular energy bills. One part of this that I do really like is that should you move, the next owner will then take over paying for the improvements – you don’t take the responsibility for the loan with you.

What about new builds?

The original plans all focused on existing housing stock. However, the housing minister, Grant Shapps, has now said that he would like to see the scheme extended to properties that haven’t even been built yet.

He wants to see builders qualify for a £6,500 loan in order to develop the homes to zero-carbon standards, though it remains unclear just how the ‘savings’ the homeowner would make as a result will be calculated.

Will it make a difference?

At this early stage, it’s difficult to know just how successful the Green Deal plans will be. According to the Government’s own plans it will be autumn 2012 before the first Green Deals appear, so there’s plenty of time for a few spanners to be thrown into the works.

But the fact is that the aims are pretty laudable. Making our homes more energy efficient is not only a good thing for the environment, it’s a good thing for our bank balances as well (in the long run anyway, as at least initially the Government will be pocketing the savings you make as a result of the home improvements).

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However, you don’t have to wait for the Government’s plans to kick in – there are plenty of things you can do already to cut how much you spend each month on your energy bill.

Switching provider

For many of us the simplest way to cut our spend is to move to a more competitive deal. The majority of homes in the UK are stuck on standard tariffs, which are always the most expensive on offer from energy providers. As a result, there are some significant savings to be had by shopping around, particularly online as this is where many of the best deals are found.

I moved provider just before Christmas, and it was a far simpler process than I had feared. Why not use our energy quote engine to see how much you could save by moving provider today?

Be sure to have a read of The energy firms that will rip you off as well.

Don’t rely on an estimate

The concept of estimated bills has always bemused me. Of the myriad other bills I end up paying, none of the others take a guess at what to charge me – my phone bill charges me for exactly how often I use it, for example.

So don’t just accept estimated bills from your provider. Always check your meter to ensure the bill is correct, and keep your provider updated on readings. Yes, it can take a little while but it’s worth it!

Get insulating

Many of us don’t need to wait two years for some Government adviser to tell us that some extra insulation would help our home’s energy efficiency – we already know!

The Energy Saving Trust reckons we could save up to £145 each year on our energy bills by insulating our lofts, a saving not to be sniffed at. Even better, it won’t cost you a fortune – grants are in place from the Government to help you meet the cost. If you’re over 70 or on benefits then chances are you’ll get the insulation absolutely free, though even if you’re not you may qualify for grants of between 40% and 70% of the installation cost.

Head over to the Government’s insulation grants website to see if you qualify.

Keep on your toes

Of course, there are plenty of little things here and there which you can do which will help minimise your bills. As a one-off, they’ll make little difference, but if you can get into the routine of doing them regularly they may help to lower your bills.

Some things you should do:

• Bleed your radiators
• Turn off your lights when you leave the room
• Don’t just leave appliances on standby – turn them off properly
• Don’t leave your mobile charging all night
• Turn your thermostat down
• Only boil as much water in your kettle as you need

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