Apply for the Green Deal

Date: 5th Oct 2012   By: ciaran   Comments 1

 

In theory you can apply for the Green Deal today. The problem is nothing is going to happen until January 28th 2013.

Green Deal Assessors and Providers are offering Assessments on houses now. But there is little point in doing this as there are a couple of challenges to overcome, firstly the software that is being developed to log the assessments is still being finished so the assessment cannot be completed and verified as a Green Deal Assessment.

The second problem is the financing mechanism of the Green Deal hasn’t been finalised. Which means you might get a nice shiny assessment, but no one will be able to do any work on your property until the 28th of January 2013.

I decided to ring the providers and find out how they are getting along with their end of the Green Deal. Here are the results of the first 5 I called:

  • Ampere GDP

They will do an assessment in November and expect work to start in February. They have a charge of £120 for my 3 bed semi-detached home. They are planning to start assessments before Christmas.

  • Anglian Home Improvements

Unfortunately the person I spoke to didn’t really know about the Green Deal, but he was keen to send over someone to have a look at my windows. I expect they will have some clearer information closer to the launch.

  • BritishEco

Took my details and would send me information and will be touch. They don’t have an exact price for an assessment.

  • British Gas

Took my email address and will be in touch. No set price for an assessment.

  • CarbonLow Group

Will be looking to start assessments as soon as possible, took my details and talked about a price of around £100 for an assessment. They did expect the price to be enveloped into the whole process and that the charge would only be made if you declined to have any work done.

  • Carillion

Is looking to launch a domestic and commercial service in the near future but is waiting for the last pieces of legislation to be in place before any offers are made.

The conclusion from this small section of providers is that some have found their network of assessors and are willing to do to book assessments in. Most providers, however, are waiting for the Government to finish the financial system before they plough on with assessments. The Provider accreditation is an on-going process and it seems to be that some are waiting for this to come through before they commit to any work being carried out.

The Green Deal is a large Government run operation and its complex in its design, so the Government are, wisely, taking their time to get things right before starting the whole initiative. Potentially there are 14 Million homes that can be upgraded through this scheme, so it’s worth getting it right from the start to avoid future calamities.

 

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cbmd/3226065008/

 

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One Response to Apply for the Green Deal

  1. John Martin says:
    October 9, 2012 at 3:57 pm

    this really is not surprising, it’s a shame that its all smoke and mirrors with DECC and the Government issuing misleading press statements which ‘big up’ the Green Deal when in reality it is a country mile from being properly operational at any level let alone installer level.
    It will come good but this type of disjointed approach serves only to fuel negativity about the scheme, which is a real shame, but DECC never seem to learn from past mistakes