A quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions come from the energy used in homes with a similar amount coming from our businesses, industry and workplaces. On a national scale the UK economy needs to reduce CO2 emissions to comply with the carbon emissions budget legislated in the The Climate Change Act 2008.
The Green Deal is the proposed government initiative to increase energy efficiency in commercial and residential properties in the UK. First proposed to parliament in December 2010 the deal intends to create a new financing framework to enable the provision of fixed improvements to the energy efficiency of households and non-domestic properties. This will be funded by a charge on energy bills that avoids the need for consumers to pay upfront costs. It will allow private energy firms to make structural improvements to residential and commercial buildings such as loft and wall insulation and LED lighting to lower CO2 emissions energy bills.
Because the Green deal is not a personal loan the cost of these installations will be recovered through instalments on the energy bill over several years and there will be no obligation to continue paying the costs if you move house. A simple calculation, known as the “golden rule’’ of the green deal will be used to assess suitability for the scheme, those eligible will have been predicted that the energy efficiency improvements made to the property will equal or exceed the total cost of the installations.
