A consumer guide to what The Green Deal is and how it may affect you

New research from Pilkington energiKare™ has found that three quarters of us don’t know what the Green Deal is, with nearly one in five (17 per cent) admitting we have heard of the term but don’t know how it will affect us. To help explain the Green Deal and how it can be of benefit, Tony Smith, Business Development Manager at Pilkington Building Products, shares his expert advice.
What exactly is The Green Deal?

The Green Deal is the flagship government energy efficiency initiative contained within the Energy Bill 2011, which aims to give homeowners the opportunity to reduce energy use by installing insulation improvement measures and improving heating and lighting efficiency in their homes. The Green Deal will also give tenants the right to ask their landlords for reasonable upgrades to their homes.

The Green Deal is a loan scheme allowing people to upgrade their homes without having to pay for it upfront. An assessment of the property is made by a certified assessor who will recommend measures to save energy. The government has introduced a Golden Rule that requires that the cost savings from the reduction in energy use must cover the Green Deal loan repayments making the scheme self financing. The Green Deal Finance repayments will be collected through the electricity bill.

Why is The Green Deal being introduced?
Many of us want to improve our property and help the environment but the initial financial outlay of updating a property is off-putting, and for many tenants across the country, paying for updates to their rented home out of their own pocket is simply not an option. The Green Deal aims to help by covering the upfront expenditure with a loan from a government regulated Green Deal Provider.

What sort of energy updates will be included in the Green Deal?
Pilkington Building Products has been lobbying the government to encourage inclusion of energy-efficient glazing into the Green Deal in order to help meet the UK objectives to reduce carbon emissions in future. Improvement measures that will be covered by the Green Deal scheme will include energy-efficient glazing, solid wall insulation, loft and cavity wall insulation, heating upgrades, ventilation and lighting improvements and other energy efficiency measures.

We are pleased that energy-efficient glazing will be included in the Green Deal scheme. Energy-efficient glazing can help homeowners and tenants significantly save energy and reduce bills. Pilkington energiKare™ double-glazing can help people to save up to 20 per cent on heating bills, compared to single glazing.

The right glass such as Pilkington K Glass™ plays a key role in the prevention of energy loss through windows and is a vital part of making a home sustainable. Energy saving measures are essential for homeowners, landlords and businesses to reduce CO2 output and reduce the cost and dependency on energy.

How will the installations be affected if I move to a new home?
The Green Deal loan charge is attached to the electricity meter so if the homeowner sells the property the new owner will get the benefit of the measures and continue the loan repayments through the electricity bill. People can get worried when you mention finance and loans, and immediately think of debt – but you have to think of it very differently to buying a sofa or a car on finance and paying it back over many years. The car or the sofa will diminish in value, but because the products included in the Green Deal are required to meet the governments Golden Rule, saving energy and money on your energy bills, they will be continually be working for you, so over the period of the loan the measures should have paid for themselves. No specific loan period is set for the Green Deal, but full repayment must be made within the guarantee period of the product.

Green Deal Summary
The Green Deal would consist of the following steps:
1. An independent and impartial accredited assessor will carry out an energy survey of the property showing advice on the best energy-saving solutions.
2. Green Deal funding is to be provided only through a regulated Green Deal Provider which is then paid back through savings on energy bills, making properties more energy economical immediately.
3. Homeowners then receive the energy efficiency package, safe in the knowledge that only accredited measures will be installed by qualified and accredited installers.
4. The homeowner will also have the peace of mind in knowing that the Green Deal Provider is required by government to guarantee the measures for the full life of the Green Deal loan.

In the meantime, while we wait for the Government’s Green Deal plans to be finalised, here are a few simple suggestions on how to improve your home’s energy efficiency.

Energy-efficient light bulbs – Fitting just one energy saving light bulb can save you on average £2.50 a year - and by swapping all the light bulbs in your home for energy-efficient ones, you could save around £37 per year*. Energy-efficient bulbs will produce the same amount of light as a standard light bulb but will use a fraction of the electricity.

Turn down the thermostat – Invest in a digital room thermostat and timer, this will automatically reduce the heating while you are asleep or out at work. As much as 10 percent can be saved on heating bills by turning the thermostat back by just a few degrees.

Eliminate draughts and Insulate – Inspect your home for draughts that will let the cold air in. Particularly feel for air coming in around doors, windows and electrical sockets. If you find any draughts, seal them! Make sure your loft is well insulated, the loft is a common source of draughts and the cold air quickly finds a way to circulate through the home. Insulation is relatively easy to install and it could save you up to £150 a year.

Insulation jacket for your hot water tank – Keep your hot water cylinder warm by wrapping an insulator blanket around it as this will reduce the rate at which it loses heat. Also try adding insulation to internal exposed pipes in the airing cupboard and around the cylinder, as this will also help conserve the heat.

Turn off at the switch – don’t leave electrical appliances on standby – This means that the appliance is still using electricity and therefore wasting energy. It has been estimated that more than £740m of electricity is wasted every year in the UK by things being left on standby the equivalent of more than two power stations' output. So make sure you switch off at the main power source ensuring you save both energy and money.

Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) energy saving calculator for a mains gas, detached house www.ggf.org.uk/energy-savings-calculator

www.pilkington.co.uk/sustainability

www.pilkington.co.uk

61% say Energy-Saving is most popular reason for replacing windows & doors

DGCOS (The Double Glazing and Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme) commissioned a survey by Opinium Research , which revealed that 61% of homeowners now consider reducing energy bills as the most popular reason for replacing windows and doors.

This radical change constitutes a major shift in consumer priorities. Over the last 30 years homeowners have usually cited improving the comfort or look of homes, or improving security as their top reasons. Now the next most important reasons trail 18% behind energy-saving in the survey: 43% say making their home more comfortable is their most important reason, and 42% say it is making their home look better.

This summer, newspapers were full of headlines of soaring domestic energy price increases which may have prompted homeowners to give energy-saving as their number 1 reason for replacing their windows and doors.

Tony Pickup (DGCOS Founder) says “Energy-saving used to be an accidental by-product of installing new windows and doors; it wasn’t even on the radar but suddenly it’s front of mind because of rocketing energy bills this summer: gas prices rose 22% and electricity prices rose 12%. People living in outlying areas are particularly hard-hit and almost being held to ransom by a price hike of 28% in heating oils since last September, so homeowners have grasped an important message that more energy-efficient windows and doors will help them cut fuel bills.”

In response to continuing consumer misery highlighted in TV programmes such as Rogue Traders and Cowboy Builders, Tony Pickup founded The Double Glazing and Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme (DGCOS) to help the industry clean up its image. DGCOS provides the most comprehensive consumer protection cover in the home improvement industry and has over 200 members nationwide who install double glazing products, conservatories, doors, porches, fascias, soffits, roofline products and orangeries.

The organisation’s ambassador is TV presenter and consumer champion Nick Ross who fronted BBC Watchdog and Crimewatch for many years.

Tony observes “Even when energy price rises headlines fade, the need to reduce fuel bills long term remains strong because of the recession and squeezed incomes because even more energy price rises are expected.”

But before signing contracts with an installer, Tony recommends homeowners do their research into the strength of consumer protection being offered. He says ‘There are numerous trade bodies and organisations offering very different levels of consumer protection. You have to read the small print or, for genuine peace of mind, use DGCOS members who automatically offer full deposit protection and Insurance Backed Guarantees.”

Under DGCOS, in the unlikely event that an installer goes into liquidation or ceases trading, consumers are still protected unlike other schemes which may leave consumers stranded. DGCOS also provides a completely free dispute resolution service, whereas other schemes may charge for these services. Most importantly, the DGCOS Ombudsman has the authority to adjudicate and make legally binding awards backed up by a Compensation Fund so consumers are comprehensively protected.

Tony’s parting shot is ‘If you invest in new energy-efficient double glazing, you not only insulate your home but you future-proof your wallet against energy price increases as well! And if you use a DGCOS member, you are guaranteed a job completed to the highest levels of customer satisfaction!”

The online Omnibus survey of 2,014 nationally representative UK adults over 18 was carried out between 27th and 30th September 2011. Of these, 1,224 or 61% were homeowners.

FACTFILE:
Appendix: Other key findings including age & regional differences : -

Reducing their carbon footprint seems to have failed to convince homeowners or capture their interest, with only 12% of respondents placing it within their top three reasons for replacing windows or doors.

18-34 years olds emerged as more influenced by making their home look better than older age groups, with 45% of 18-34s citing aesthetics an important reason for installing windows and doors as opposed to only 39% of over 55s.

Making their home look better was significantly more important to homeowners in Yorkshire & Humberside (48%), East Midlands (51%), West Midlands (49%) and the South East (44%) than in the South West (25%).

Over 55 year olds (48%) emerged as more likely to replace their windows and doors to make their home more comfortable than 18-34s (32%) but increasing the value of your home emerges as of less importance as homeowners get older. 34% of 18-34 year olds cited it compared with 25% of 35-54 year olds and just 18% of over 55s

Website: www.dgcos.org.uk Email: info@dgcos.org.uk Tel: 0845 053 8975