Green deal home improvement fund GDHIF

The Green Deal was launched in 2012 to fund energy efficiency measures through long-term savings on electricity bills.

The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) was launched by Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker on 1 May 2014 (Gov.uk ref £7600 to make your home more energy efficient). The previous Green Deal Cashback Scheme ended on June 30 2014.

Available to people in England and Wales from June 2014, the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) was designed to work alongside Green Deal finance although householders were not be required to use Green Deal finance to qualify for the GDHIF.

Domestic energy customers could claim up to £7600:

• 67% of the costs of installation for solid wall insulation up to £6,000.
• Up to a £100 refund for a Green Deal Assessment.
• Up to £500 for those who had bought a property in 12 months prior to application to qualify if they carried out energy efficiency improvements.
• Up to £1000 for installing two measures from the following list (for homemovers the maximum was £1500):

1. Condensing gas boiler (on mains gas).
2. Double glazing (replacing single glazing).
3. Secondary glazing.
4. Replacement doors.
5. Cavity wall insulation.
6. Floor insulation.
7. Flat roof insulation.
8. Room-in-roof insulation.
9. Replacement warm air unit.
10. Replacement storage heaters.
11. Flue gas heat recovery units.
12. Waste water heat recovery systems.

To qualify for funding:

• The improvements had to be recommended on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) that was less than 24 months old or on a Green Deal Advice Report.
• The GDHIF could not be combined with funding for the same installation from the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Green Deal Communities Scheme or the Green Deal Cashback scheme.
• The customer had to register for their GDHIF voucher on the application website or by telephone.
• Customers had to have the improvements installed by a registered Green Deal Installer or Provider within six months of receiving their voucher.
• The voucher had to be countersigned by the Green Deal Installer or Provider once the installation was complete.

Customers were expected toreceive payment in ten working days of the voucher being validated.

The GDHIF was closed in July 2014 following a large number of applications. It re-opened in December 2014, with new funding being released in tranches. However, the £24 million provided for solid wall insulation was allocated in the first day and closed to applications. It was expected to re-open to applications in February 2015.

However, on 23 July 2015 Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd announced that there would be no further funding to the Green Deal Finance Company and that the Government would stop any future funding releases of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund. This was described as a move to protect taxpayers following low take-up and concerns about industry standards. Ref Gov.uk. The announcement did not impact on existing Green Deal Finance Plans or Green Deal Home Improvement Fund applications or vouchers.

Rudd suggested that the Government would work with the building industry and consumer groups on a new value-for-money approach, but that future schemes must provide better value for money, supporting the goal of insulating a million more homes over the next five years and the Government’s commitment to tackle fuel poverty.

See Green Deal scrapped for more information.

[edit] Find out more

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Energy certificates.
• Energy companies obligation.
• Energy performance contracts.
• Feed in tariff.
• Green deal.
• Green deal scrapped.
• Renewable energy.
• Renewable heat incentive.
• Zero carbon homes.
• Zero carbon non domestic buildings.

[edit] External references

• Gov.uk ref £7600 to make your home more energy efficient 1 May 2014.