Question 1

Overview

Accepted Answer

The Green Deal helps you make energy-saving improvements to your home and find the best way to pay for them.

The improvements that could save you the most energy depend on your home, but typical examples include:

insulation, such as solid wall, cavity wall or loft insulation
heating
draught-proofing
double glazing
renewable energy generation, such as solar panels or heat pumps

Find out if your home will benefit

There are various ways to check if your property could benefit from energy-saving improvements:

use the Energy Efficiency Calculator to find out how you can reduce your energy bills
check which home energy grants you might be able to apply for
talk to a Green Deal assessor or provider

The Green Deal may be right for you if you think your property could benefit from energy-saving improvements.

You can also talk to Simple Energy Advice if you’re in England or Wales, or Home Energy Scotland if you’re in Scotland

Simple Energy Advice
Telephone: 0800 444 202
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm

Home Energy Scotland
Telephone: 0808 808 2282
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 9am to 5pm

Find out about call charges

The Green Deal is not available in Northern Ireland.

Green Deal mark

All Green Deal organisations must be authorised - look for the quality mark.

You can also check if a Green Deal company is genuine.

Question 2

Improvements and benefits to your home

Accepted Answer

Any household with an electricity meter (including prepayment meters) in England, Scotland or Wales can use the scheme.

Both the landlord and the tenant must agree to the improvements if the building is rented.

Eligible improvements

You can use the Green Deal for a range of different energy saving measures including:

replacing windows and doors
installing secondary glazing
using energy efficient lighting
insulating your loft or walls
adding draught proofing
upgrading your heating
generating renewable energy from sources such as wind or solar power

But only if your Green Deal assessment recommends them.

Question 3

Get an assessment

Accepted Answer

You must get your property assessed to use the Green Deal. Contact a Green Deal assessor or ask a Green Deal provider to find an assessor for you.

You may have to pay for an assessment. The assessor must tell you the fee in advance.

What to expect from an assessment

A Green Deal assessor will visit your home, talk to you about your property and your energy use and help you decide if you could benefit from Green Deal improvements.

When you book

You may be asked if:

you own or rent the property
your home is a listed building, in a conservation area, built before 1900 or constructed in a non-traditional way
there are access issues, such as access to your loft
you can provide bills showing your recent energy use

When the assessor visits

You may be asked:

how many people live in your home
what type of heating and appliances you use
how often you use your heating
what energy-saving measures are already installed

After the visit

You’ll get a document, called a Green Deal advice report, that contains:

an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) that rates your home for energy efficiency
an occupancy assessment that measures how much energy you and other occupiers are using
improvements your assessor recommends
an estimate of the money you could save on your annual energy bills
a statement on whether the improvements will pay for themselves through reduced energy costs

A Green Deal advice report is valid for 10 years, or until you make changes or energy saving improvements to the property, for example you build an extension or change the windows.

The actual savings will depend on how much energy you use and the future cost of energy.

What to do next

You decide:

Question 4

Getting the work done

Accepted Answer

How you decide to get the work done will affect your options for how you pay for the work.

After you get a Green Deal advice report, you can:

ask a Green Deal provider to arrange installation and pay for the work yourself
ask a Green Deal provider to arrange installation and a Green Deal finance plan to pay for the work
get your own installers to fit the improvements and pay for them yourself
pay for the work in more than one way, for example a Green Deal finance plan, with money from another scheme or money of your own

Some companies provide all the services for a Green Deal package - assessment, finance and installation. You can choose to use a different company for each service.

Get a quote

Give a provider or installer your Green Deal advice report.

Providers will give you a quote and arrange the installers for you. Installers will quote to do the work themselves. A quote from a provider will include the repayment terms if you’re paying with a finance plan.

You can get more than one quote and you can choose which improvements you want.

You can ask the provider or installer if you or your property qualify to combine the Green Deal with these other schemes:

Affordable Warmth Obligation - help from your energy company to improve your home if you’re on certain benefits or a low income, or for certain hard-to-treat properties
Feed-in Tariffs - payments from your energy provider if you generate your own electricity (such as through solar panels or a wind turbine)
Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) - payments for generation and use of renewable energy to heat buildings
any scheme run by your Local Authority - contact your Local Authority for information

Agree the work

Pick the provider or installer you want to do the work.

The provider will write you a contract called a Green Deal finance plan if you choose to pay with Green Deal finance. The plan will contain:

an outline of the work that will be done
any financial help you can get from other schemes
the repayments and interest rate
information on other incentives you can access, such as Feed-in Tarrifs
information on warranties and guarantees

Your Green Deal repayments will be automatically added to your electricity bill if you have chosen to take Green Deal finance.

Complaints

You can complain about your Green Deal.

Question 5

How to pay

Accepted Answer

You can pay in advance, get a Green Deal finance plan, or use other schemes to fund the work. You can also combine ways to pay.

Getting a Green Deal finance plan

Finance plans are offered by approved Green Deal providers.

Give your Green Deal assessment to providers you want to get a quote from.

Your provider will find an installer for you.

You can only get a finance plan for improvements recommended in your Green Deal assessment.

Each provider must tell you:

how much you’ll pay back
how long you’ll pay for

What you can borrow and how much you’ll pay

You can get finance for an amount based on what you’ll be expected to save on your energy bills.

The annual repayments on the loan should not be more than the savings you might make on your energy bills.

There’s no set interest rate. Your interest rate will be determined by the amount of your finance plan. Check with your provider for rates and fees.

The interest rate is fixed for the full term of the plan so your repayments will be fixed.

How you pay

You pay back the loan through a charge added to your electricity bill. If you have a prepayment meter, a small amount will be taken from the meter each day.

This is because the Green Deal stays with the property. If you move, you no longer benefit from the improvements and therefore stop paying for them.

You can pay off your Green Deal early, but you might be charged a fee - check with your provider.

Question 6

Moving into a property with a Green Deal

Accepted Answer

If you move into a property with a Green Deal, the landlord or seller must show you a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). This will explain what improvements have been made and how much you’ll need to repay.

The person who pays the electricity bill pays the money back.

You can change electricity supplier if the new supplier is participating in the Green Deal.

Get more information

Contact the Green Deal provider if you have specific questions about the improvements, warranties or repayments.

You can get general information from Simple Energy Advice if you’re in England or Wales, or Home Energy Scotland if you’re in Scotland.

Simple Energy Advice
Telephone: 0800 444 202
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm

Home Energy Scotland
Telephone: 0808 808 2282
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 9am to 5pm

Find out about call charges

Green Deal: energy saving for your home

Overview

Find out if your home will benefit

Green Deal mark

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Green Deal: energy saving for your home

Overview

Find out if your home will benefit

Green Deal mark

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