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Energy efficiency is focus of the Coalition's Green Deal
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 25th June 2010 at 9:09 am
Domestic insulation is top of Chris Huhne's plans for A Green Deal for housing he said yesterday at the Economist UK Energy Summit. He also touched on the (much awaited) renewable heat incentive as he revealed measures in the pipeline from the self-acclaimed "greenest government ever". To summarise…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Can Greg Barker, and his Green Deal, make insulation sexy?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 14th July 2010 at 10:56 am
Energy efficiency has been the poor relation of British energy policy, according to Greg Barker, minister for climate change in the coalition government. Speaking in the debate on energy efficiency on 30 June, he outlined how he plans to raise its status. He will: 1. Introduce t…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
The Green Deal: who would you prefer to deliver it?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 14th July 2010 at 10:56 am
For mass take-up of energy saving measures we need effective financing schemes, so we welcome the glimpses of detail on the Green Deal that Greg Barker gave us at the end of June. However, it’s not enough to get a clear view of how the scheme will work. How will it be delivered? Barker said…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Poll reveals Government is on the wrong track with Green Deal
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 23rd August 2010 at 12:01 pm
The Government is talking to big national retailers about delivering the Green Deal, yet our poll on YouGen found that 84% of people would trust locally-based, specialist suppliers more than national retailers such as M&S, Tesco (15%). The idea for the poll came from Greg Barker saying that "…
Posted in: General, Energy efficiency
Spending review: what it means for home owners
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 20th October 2010 at 4:27 pm
Given the dread with which most of the renewables world has anticipated the comprehensive spending review, it has been quite a good day. The Chancellor confirmed that there will be a renewable heat incentive and that he (probably) won't be tinkering with the feed-in tariff before the first scheduled…
Posted in: General
Why would anyone be interested in the Green Deal?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 1st December 2010 at 8:42 am
This question was asked of the Question Time panel at RegenSW's conference last week, and their answers weren't a ringing endorsement of the Green Deal, the government's flagship policy for making domestic housing more energy efficient. "I'm pessimistic that it will work," said Ian Marchant, chie…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Green Deal - will the advice be good enough?
Posted by Linn Rafferty on 3rd December 2010 at 9:15 am
You're probably painfully aware that there's a lot still to be decided about how the Green Deal will work. According to DECC the Green Deal process starts with the provision of advice: "All households and businesses will be entitled to an energy efficiency assessment as part of Green …
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Finance for energy efficiency: how the green deal will work
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 17th December 2010 at 10:10 am
More detail about the Green Deal - the government's plan to encourage us all to make our homes and offices energy efficient - were revealed in the Energy Bill earlier this month. In essence this is a mechanism to enable people to make improvements without having to bear the up-front cost. The 'go…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Ways in which Green Deal could be more ambitious
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 21st January 2011 at 10:10 am
The plans for a Green Deal scheme to finance energy efficiency lack ambition and are in danger of only delivering the easy to install solutions such as loft and cavity wall insulation according to a number of commentators. Speaking at this week's Low Carbon Community Conference in London, …
Posted in: Energy efficiency
12 things you may not know about the Green Deal
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 21st October 2010 at 12:35 pm
The Green Deal is aiming high, with a goal of retrofitting 14m homes in a decade. Minister of state for energy and climate change, Greg Barker spoke in detail about plans at today's online question time event organised by Great British Refurb. Here's some of what was revealed. 1. The green deal w…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Renewable energy may be included in the Green Deal
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 7th June 2011 at 9:08 am
The Government's announcement last week on measures being considered for inclusion in the Green Deal, and its thinking on consumer protection, went some way to allay criticisms of the scheme. The Green Deal is expected to offer loans of up to £10,000 over a period of up to 25 years. To qualify f…
Posted in: Energy efficiency, Biomass, Combined heat & power, Heat pumps, Solar electricity, Solar heat & hot water
Small companies in danger of being excluded from Green Deal delivery
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 16th June 2011 at 1:22 pm
There's concern that the Green Deal will be the preserve of a few big companies, unless its structure is carefully designed to let small companies in. This was one of the issues highlighted at a debate on the Green Deal at yesterday's Ashden Awards conference. Plain speaking was the order of …
Posted in: Energy efficiency
EPCs should make financial benefits clearer says Consumer Focus
Posted by Linn Rafferty on 30th June 2011 at 12:08 pm
Clarity, credibility and comparability are key if EPCs are to be meaningful for consumers, and lead to them increasing the energy efficiency of their home, according to a new report from Consumer Focus. Published today, Easy as EPC looks at the content and format of the Energy Performance Certificat…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Money isn't the only motivator for energy efficiency retrofits
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 12th August 2011 at 9:06 am
Improved comfort, home improvement and rising energy costs were all motivating factors in encouraging people to improve the energy efficiency of their home, as well the resulting savings in their energy bills. These are the findings of a pilot project undertaken by the London Borough of Sutton, B…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
How can we stop the Green Deal being the preserve of a few big companies?
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 1st September 2011 at 9:13 am
Energy minister Greg Barker released an article yesterday outlining how the coalition is meeting its pledge to be the greenest goverment ever. It started well: "Being green and transforming our economy away from dependence on expensive fossil fuels to one powered by low carbon energy is no 'tree …
Posted in: General
The Green Deal explained
Posted by Adrian Wright on 17th October 2011 at 3:23 am
Any home or business in Britain will be able to carry out a full energy efficiency refurbishment of their property and fund it through a loan of up to 25 years from October 2012. Under the Green Deal, the loan will be lodged against the property (not the occupier). Repayments will be added to the p…
Posted in: Energy efficiency
Future of feed-in tariff to be announced next week
Posted by Cathy Debenham on 28th October 2011 at 6:10 am
"I haven't come here to kill the [feed-in] tariff scheme, I want to fix it, enhance it and put the whole industry on a sustainable, credible economic path to a bright and exciting future," said energy and climate change minister Greg Barker yesterday, speaking at the Solar Power UK conference in Bir…
Posted in: General
Trust individuals and take more imaginative approach to consumer protection
Posted by Matthew Rhodes on 30th March 2012 at 9:50 am
When markets have large numbers of small businesses, all innovating and desperate to compete and survive, consumer protection becomes much harder. DECC (the department of energy and climate change) can monitor and fine the big six utilities relatively easily, but it’s much harder to control a mark…
Posted in: General
The potential for Solar PV Installers to perform EPC’s
Posted by Pete Roberts on 24th April 2012 at 10:52 am
On April 1st the EPC requirement for the Feed in Tariffs came into force. This means that installations looking to qualify for the full Feed in Tariff rate after this date, must prove they are an EPC band D or above. This banding is taken after the Solar PV has been installed and therefore in some i…
Posted in: pending
Solar PV Installers can benefit twice if they invest in training to be a Domestic Energy Assessor.
Posted by Pete Roberts on 14th May 2012 at 9:40 am
With the Green Deal starting in October this year and the new EPC requirements for the feed-in tariffs, there is now more reason than ever to diversify and train to become a Domestic Energy Assessor. The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) requirement for feed-in tariffs came into force on 1 Apr…
Posted in: General
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