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Mitsubishi HUB


Industry News


Green grants can pay for sorting out the insulation, but pay attention to the scheme’s rules and your property’s ventilation system


P


roperty landlords and homeowners in England have been given the chance to make their homes more energy efficient, but they


will have to act fast if they want to take advantage of the Chancellor’s £2 billion ‘green deal’ boost. Improvements which qualify for the grants of


upto £5,000 per property include insulating your home to reduce its energy use or installing low- carbon heating to lower the amount of carbon dioxide your home produces. The grants can cover two-thirds of the cost of home improvements up to the maximum value. However, speed is of the essence as you must


redeem the voucher (which is obtained via a Government website) and ensure improvements are completed by 31 March 2021, using an approved tradesperson. The installer will request and receive payment from the Government for the costs covered by the voucher.


BIG SAVINGS The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak estimates that 650,000 homes will benefit from the grants – to pay primarily for insulation to lofts, walls and floors. That figure might look and sound like a very big number, but it’s actually only two and half per cent of the country’s housing stock of 26 million properties, so there will be plenty of competition for the sought-after vouchers. Low-income homeowners may qualify


for a higher grant, of up to £10,000 but tenants do not qualify for the assistance and will need to persuade their landlords to apply for the grants, if they want any of the qualifying works to be done to their homes. Leaseholders and shared- owners do qualify for the scheme as they are property owners. Why should people consider applying for the


vouchers? Well the Treasury claims that utilising these vouchers could help families make an average annual saving of £200 to £300 on their energy bills. It also has the potential of supporting around 140,000 jobs and taking the equivalent of 270,000 cars off the road. However, the grants will only pay for certain


types of improvement works, which have been split into ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ measures.


PRIMARY MEASURES The voucher must be used to install at least one primary measure. This can be an insulation measure and/or a low carbon heating measure. The following insulation measures are covered by the voucher:


• solid wall; • under floor;


• cavity wall; • loft; • flat roof; • room in a roof; and • insulating a park home.


The following low carbon heating measures are covered by the voucher:


• air or ground source heat pump; • solar thermal (liquid filled flat plate or evacuated tube collectors); and • biomass boilers.


If you install at least one of the above primary measures, then your voucher can also be used to help cover the cost of any of the following secondary measures:


• draught proofing; • double/triple glazing (where replacing single glazed windows);


• secondary glazing (in addition to single glazing); • external energy efficient doors (replacing single glazed or solid doors installed before 2002);


• heating controls; and • hot water tank thermostats and insulation.


RESTRICTIONS There are certain restrictions on using the vouchers. For instance the amount you get towards the cost of secondary measures cannot exceed the amount you get for primary measures. In addition installing a new fossil fuel boiler, such as gas, oil or LPG boilers do not qualify for funding, as the Government is actively looking to phase out our use of carbon based heating systems. Applicants also need to be aware that only local


and approved TrustMark and Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) registered tradespeople can carry out the work. In most instances, homeowners and landlords


will have to pay at least one-third of the cost of home improvements. So if you want to have double- glazed windows installed for £2,500, then the Government would contribute £1,667 and the homeowner or landlord would pay the balance of £833. Anyone considering applying for a voucher


under the scheme should also consider a number of cautionary comments. Foremost among these is that some homeowners have already reported receiving scam calls, emails and texts telling them that they are eligible for the grants, while other scams claimed to offer specific energy-saving measures, such as insulation.


LIMITATIONS While the vouchers can provide a much-needed boost for low-income households, the £5,000 cap – or £10,000 for the poorest homeowners – may not be enough for certain energy efficiency improvements to be made. For example, external wall insulation on a three-bedroom house is likely to cost in the region of £10,000. Vouchers up to the value of £5,000 will not cover two-thirds of the costs in this instance. And finally, the findings from the latest


English Housing Survey identified that over a quarter of households (27 per cent) reported they had an issue with condensation, damp, or mould in their home. These problems are sometimes the unintended consequence of improving the insulation of homes. Warmer houses and flats with weathertight windows and doors can result in homes with little or no movement of air, except when windows and doors are actually opened! Unless some thought and effort is put into


improving the ventilation of our homes at the same time as the insulation is upgraded, then we are in danger of creating a whole new problem.


IMPROVING PROPERTY STANDARDS Given the strong links between tackling Covid-19 and establishing good ventilation indoors, an active exchange of air and ensuring air conditioning systems are operating efficiently; it would seem obvious that any system designed to improve insulation, should also incorporate measures to improve ventilation and prevent condensation and mould. But someone who is no doubt about the merits of


the scheme is Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association. He is clear that private landlords should apply for the grants, saying: “Improving the energy efficiency of rental housing is good news for tenants, landlords and local economies. “We encourage all landlords to make use of this


as it will mean housing standards are improved, tenants will save money and it will reduce carbon emissions across the whole sector.” This should not come as a surprise to anyone, as the NRLA has long campaigned for financial support for private landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, while simultaneously increasing the value of their assets.


Written in partnership with Mitsubishi HUB


www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM October/November 2020 | 23


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