The long awaited and much heralded Green Deal is fast approaching. The soft launch of the Green Deal took place on 1 October 2012 and the first Green Deal finance plans will be signed on 28 January 2013. Over the past few months, installers, advisors, advisory services and providers have been training and joining the scheme ready for the publicity push, which is due to start at the end of January.

DECC has secured £2.9m in marketing funding to kick start the Green Deal along with an extensive fund to offer cashback to early users of the scheme. One of the recent criticisms of the Green Deal has been the lack of public awareness, however with the Prime Minister mentioning it as a key priority in the 19th December Prime Ministers questions and the publicity fund escaping the cuts, we can only expect the 28th of January to offer a great boost to the sector.

Also due in January is the finalisation of the latest PAS 2030 document which outlines the standards that Green Deal Installers must be certified to. The new PAS 2030 is due to contain a further 15 measures which will be added to the scheme and extend the reach of the Green Deal's operations and coverage.

New measures include;

• Chillers
• Duct Insulation
• HVAC Controls
• Hot Water Showers
• Hot Water Systems
• Hot Water Taps
• Roof Lights, Lamps and Luminaires
• Radiant Heating
• Sealing improvements
• Solar blinds, shutters and shading devices
• Transpired Solar Collectors
• Variable speed drives for fans and pumps
• Water Source Heat Pumps

Alongside the first Green Deal Plans being signed by some of the newly appointed Green Deal Providers, the commercial aspect of the Green Deal is also expected to start. This will provide an even greater opportunity to those not only working within the Green Deal but also commercial property owners looking to improve energy efficiency and reduce their fuel bills.

Over recent months we have all seen the increases in fuel bills announced by the Big 6 energy providers. Hopefully the start of the first installations under the Green Deal & continuing installations under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) will help us all to reduce our dependancy on expensive fossil fules and their providers.

About the author: Pete Roberts is the Head of Mentoring for Easy MCS Ltd.

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