[ Spotlight: Green Deal ]
Green T
Having waited patiently for the government’s latest energy saving environmental initiative, the Green Deal has finally arrived. So what does it offer contractors? PAUL REEVE explains
he Green Deal finally arrived at the end of January – and the key question contractors and their trade associations are asking is: ‘Will it provide us with new work?’ A broader question that
contractors should also consider is: ‘Do we need the Green Deal to get new work?’ We explore both these questions in this article. There are at least four routes to Green Deal work
for building services and other contractors. They all require Green Deal certification, or some other way of showing competence to those who are providing the work. The four main routes are: n Authorised Green Deal Installer; n Supplier to an Authorised Green Deal Installer; nProviding ‘ancillary work’ (for example wiring installation) to Green Deal installation; and n Green Deal Energy Advisor.
What is the Green Deal? The Green Deal is a government-backed initiative that aims to boost the installation of energy efficiency measures and microgeneration in millions of properties by 2030. It is sponsored by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Broadly, installable ‘Green Deal measures’ (hereafter, ‘the measures’) are in four groups: n Insulation and other building fabric; n Heating and plumbing; n Electrical; and n Microgeneration. Under the Green Deal, clients choose to have
certain measures installed, with the financial support of a special type of loan (the ‘Green Deal loan’). This loan allows the client to pay for all (or some)
24 ECA Today March 2013
For many contractors, diversification, upskilling and access to ongoing, competent support will be the key to Green Deal and wider energy-related opportunities
shoots?
of the measures and then repay the loan through regular additions to their electricity bill, until the loan is paid off. Even if the Green Deal measure is not electrical, the loan repayment is added to the client’s electricity bill. The repayments will normally be covered or exceeded by the energy savings (a reduction in the overall energy bill) due to the installed measures. This is called the Green Deal ‘Golden Rule’, and it aims to ensure that installing the measures gives the occupier of the premises a net saving over time. The bottom line for the Green Deal is that it lowers or even removes the hurdle of capital expenditure, and the loan should at least pay for itself through energy savings. DECC has developed a list of more than 45
Green Deal energy saving and microgeneration measures. These are shown in PAS 2030 Improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings (available from BSI). They range from cavity wall insulation and loft insulation to boiler controls, lighting, solar photovoltaic (PV) and many others.
Example Green Deal
measures in PAS 2030 The following are example opportunities for contractors:
Building services solutions (mainly electrical) n Electric storage heaters and warm air; nLight fittings, lighting systems and lighting systems; and
n Variable speed drives (non-domestic).
Building services solutions (mainly mechanical) n Chillers; nCondensing boilers, natural gas-fired and
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