It has been announced during a recent press release by the DECC that “Due to overwhelming popular demand, the Green Home Improvement Fund is closed for applications with immediate effect”. The Green Deal Home Improvement fund only opened to application on 9th June 2014. The article stipulated that “All applications received prior to the fund closing that satisfy the terms and conditions and meet the eligibility criteria will be honoured at the original rates”. It was also mentioned that the Green Deal Home Improvement fund had been “extremely popular” and “as a result, thousands more families will now benefit from Government help to have warmer homes which use less energy”. This will happen providing the money that has been claimed will be spent.
The Green Deal underwent a soft launch in October 2012. This opened up the opportunity for people to obtain loans for energy saving measures for properties within Great Britain. As well as this, Green Deal assessments could be applied for. On 28th January 2013 the Green Deal underwent its official launch in England and Wales and on the 25th February 2013 in Scotland. This is when Green Deal plans could be obtained.
However, will the Green Deal really have a long-term impact, aid in achieving the energy efficiency targets put in place by the government and encourage the utilisation of renewable technologies? The rationale for this question lies in fact that the home-improvement fund did not include funding for renewables, even though obtaining the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) requires a Green Deal assessment.
Moreover, the Green Deal has been criticised about the accessibility of the funds. The government were surprised at how quickly the funds for the scheme were exhausted. In just the first few weeks over £25 million had been claimed, which equates to about half the year’s fund. After two months the money for the entire had been claimed, which meant the scheme had to close. It’s not known exactly how many householders successfully made use of the scheme. However thousands of homeowners have paid near to £100 for a Green Deal Assessment, who are likely to now be out of pocket.
Furthermore, there are people who spent time and money to make themselves familiar with the scheme in the hope it would help them develop their business. Due to the unforeseen early closure of the Green Deal, such people are expected to be annoyed and disappointed. At this time it is not known if additional funding will be available in order to continue the scheme.
Due to these negative aspects of the Green Deal the government have reviewed the logistics of the Green Deal in regards to the accessibility of funds, which have made accessing the funds much easier.
This may not be enough to persuade homeowners, installers and agents that the Green Deal really is a deal. If additional funding is supplied, either the funds will be consumed as quickly before, or not taken up at all due to home owners, installers and agents not being able to see the long-term benefits; since what is needed is effective and sustainable change.
In order for a scheme to be successful, it is imperative that it has credibility and consumer trust, closing the Green Deal Home Improvement damages both credibility and consumer trust.
Therefore, thought-through ideas, long-term motivations and plans and well-managed schemes are what consumers and the industry needs. Without these, success will constantly oscillate between growth and contraction. This will lead to nothing resembling success in regards to developing the house renovation market, which is required if the Government energy policy goals are going to be achieved.
Looking at the Green Deal Home Improvement scheme as it stands, it is successful if viewed from a short-term perspective, however if you want to long-term effects, then the evidence has yet to be seen to prove the Green Deal Home Improvement scheme can deliver this.
Syntegra Consulting is a leading Energy Consulting Company in the UK – for further information regarding green deal assessments, energy efficiency and renewable energy investments, please telephone +44(0)845 009 1625 or e-mail: mail@syntegra-epc.co.uk.
