What is the Green Homes Grant?
The Green Homes Grant is a Government scheme aimed at helping homeowners install new energy saving measures in their homes, such as new boilers, insulation, low carbon heat or double glazing.
For the latest information on the Green Homes Grant, please visit the official Green Homes Grant website here.
Unlike the previous Green Deal scheme which was loan operated, the Green Homes Grant offers grants of up to £5000 and £10,000 to wholly or partially cover the full cost of the energy saving measure.
The Green Homes Grant was set up to help improve the energy efficiency of properties across the UK, since many of the properties we live in are very inefficient, with solid walls, old heating systems and very little insulation. This scheme allows people to improve their homes without having to stump up the entire upfront costs of the works.
How does the Green Homes Grant work?
The Green Homes Grant is divided in to two separate grants, which each have different eligibility criteria.
£5000 – available to any home in England that fits the correct criteria for the specific measure. This grant covers 2/3’s of the full cost and caps at £5000. There will be a remainder in all cases using this grant and it will be paid as a customer contribution.
£10,000 – available to any homeowner receiving certain benefits listed here, and whose home fits the correct criteria for the specific measure. This grant covers 100% of the full cost up to £10,000 and the remainder is paid as a customer contribution.
A basic worked example of the Green Homes Grant
The easiest way of showing this is using an example – so lets imagine you are fitting external insulation, using the Green Homes Grant.
e.g. Fitting external insulation on a small terraced house (approx 50sqm), using the £5000 green homes grant
The average supply and fit cost of external wall insulation is £120 per sqm (inclusive of materials, labour, VAT, skip hire, any extra remedial work required, scaffolding). Therefore, a 50sqm house would cost £6000.
In this case, 2/3’s of the full cost is £4000, so this is how much the Green Homes Grant would cover. The homeowner would pay the remainder of £2000.
e.g. Fitting external insulation on the same size house (50sqm), using the £10,000 Green Homes Grant
As above, the total cost of the works would amount to £6000. With the £10,000 grant, the whole £6000 would be covered by the Green Homes Grant and there would be no customer contribution.
If the house were bigger (for instance, 100sqm) the total cost would be £12,000, the Green Homes Grant would cover £10,000 of the amount and the homeowner would have to pay £2000.
Who can get the Green Homes Grant?
In theory, any home in England can access the Green Deal considering you are eligible, but the scheme has been specifically tailored to the private home owner or the private rental sectors. The reason being is that the social housing sector already has several ways in which improvements are funded and undertaken – namely the ECO scheme.
Check if you are eligible using the Government questionnaire.
The Green Homes Grant Process
The following section talks a bit more about how the Green Homes Grant process works end-to-end – starting with a finding a Trustmark approved installer to quote for the works.
- Find a Trustmark approved installer to quote you for the works. The installer will also have to be registered to specific certifications regarding the measure they are installing – MCS/PAS2035. It is recommended to get three quotes for comparison.
- Once you have agreed a quote with an approved installer, you can apply for the grant on the government website. You must not apply without receiving a formal quotation.
- When you have submitted your application, it will take a few weeks until you receive your Green Homes Grant voucher. Work must not start before you receive the voucher.
- Your installer will be notified when you receive the voucher, however it is always a good idea to let them know yourself and arrange a start date for the work to begin.
- An installer will complete the work and you as the customer should be benefiting from the energy improvements.
How does the Green Homes Grant help improve homes?
By installing energy efficient measures in your home, it will help protect the environment, and lower your energy bills.
Types of measures currently covered in the Green Homes Grant scheme:
- Insulation Measures– Solid wall insulation (internal or external), Cavity wall insulation, Under-floor insulation (solid floor, suspended floor), Loft insulation, Flat roof insulation, Pitched roof insulation, Room in roof insulation, Insulating a park home
- Low Carbon Heat Measures – Air source heat pump, Ground source heat pump, Solar thermal (liquid filled flat plate or evacuated tube collector), Biomass boiler, Hybrid heat pump
How does the Green Homes Grant help improve energy awareness?
The Green Homes Grant provides homeowners with knowledge of energy efficient home improvements. In turn, better energy awareness should drive occupiers to use their energy more wisely, which should drive down the cost people pay. For example: reducing the temperature of the hot water cylinder thermostat, installing central heating thermostats in the correct location, reducing water levels in kettles, washing clothes in ‘eco-mode’, and turning off unused high energy usage appliances like chest freezers should all help with lower energy bills.
We list 100 ways to save energy in the home here – even if you adopt a few, you should see some nice energy savings on your utility bills.
This new deal has failed. You only need to look at the official “take up” figures that have been published to know that householders do not want to saddle their property with an onward going debt.. I believe also, that it is cheaper to apply for loan from the bank to cover the work than to accept the interest on the loans from Green Deal. I have been pestered with unsolicited calls from local companies who have set themselves up as “consultants”. They will charge anything between one & two hundred pounds to listen to come to your house and give their “expert opinion”. Of course their motivation is commission and nothing more.
Hi Sue, some fair points. There are companies out there where the motivation is not purely for commission and more about the “bigger picture”, and many readers who we have spoken to who have had an assessment have appreciated that service. I actually think it is the assessment that is real value added part of the whole scheme (access solid wall insulation grand, for RHI claims, etc) and everything else a bit up in the air (depending which angle you are coming from).
Hi there,
We have purchased a barn which we intend to renovate and convert into our home for life. We have never had any incentives in the past with our previous homes – This being our very first self-build or last should I say. What incentives would be available to us?
We currently reside in the North Pennines on a farm within several acres of our land. We reside at The Barns, Briar Dykes, Baldersdale DL129UU, Barnard Castle, and County Durham.
We intend to renovate our barns into a home and would like to install a minimum 8kw solar panels to the roof (We are South Facing), and we are looking at water / ground source heating combined with providing us with our own water supply. We do have free spring water which is shared and owned by a neighbouring farm, but there are some disruptions to the flow, which is why we would like our own supply.
Our property has been designed as a Passive-Haus as such we welcome an opportunity to be supported with government funded projects or where we can make a saving. We are confident our barn conversion is subject to VAT saving conditions as set out by the HMRC.
Our property is located near to the Hury Reservoir and I can provide you with Architectural plans if required. We intend to submit the work out to tenure dependent upon what cost efficiency savings you can offer as we only have a small sensible budget.
If this is you – Then please get in touch on 01833 651859 for consultation.
Regards,
M.Perwaze
Can I get external wall insulation funding with the green deal?
Hi Remy, Speaking with the Green Deal finance company about a month ago – solid wall insulation was one of the technologies they wanted to include in the scheme when it was relaunched – so in a word yes, you can get funding for external wall insulation via the Green Deal, but there are only a couple of companies that offer it at present. Likewise it is worth pointing out that the Green Deal is finance, not a Grant! You may find cheaper finance out there if you look!
Hi, i have been contacted by a compnay saying the Green Deal has been relaunched. I am interested in this energy saving scheme since the last time it came around. Unfortunately I didn’t act quick enough last time! It closed as I was about to take out the loan to get my new solar panels. I would be very interested in still getting solar panels put on the roof of my property under the green deal scheme. I am also quite interested in seeing if I could get a boiler under the scheme. Please can you just confirm whether the scheme is indeed live again as i am pretty keen to move ahead with it if so!
Hi Sean, the Green Deal has indeed been relaunched, however it is a small launch with a limited number of providers. In addition not all the technologies that were included in the first launch of the scheme are included this time around. Included in the technologies that haven’t made it into this relaunch is solar PV. Boilers are included though so you should be find to get that under the Green Deal. For the solar PV, you will have to wait and see i’m afraid as to whether it gets relaunched.
Anyone know what the new interest rate will be on green deal finance.
Can someone please call me and offer me some free advice on this green deal. I am 82 years old and retired. My house is freezing and me and my wife would like to install new double glazing, cavity wall insulation and solar panels. Hope this green deal is as you say. You have a fantastic resource here for elderly people. If left my ohone number on your email
Hi Fred,
Thanks for getting in touch – in terms of double glazing and cavity wall insulation they should be fine to get under the Green Deal, although you may now be able to get cavity wall insulation fully funded (i.e. a grant) under ECO. Solar PV (the solar panels that make electricity) are not going to be available under the Green Deal this time unfortunately. We will follow this up on the phone!
Is solar panels and tesla battery packs available with green deal finance. Also do you know what is the payback of such a system?
I am after external wall insulation and a new boiler. We tried the green deal in 2013 but none of the providers had any funding and we gave up on it. Can this new green deal finance I heard about fully fund the installation measures I want to install? Also what is happening with the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund vouchers?
The Green Deal is a load of bs*** if you ask me. So you are paying off a loan on a boiler for 12 years when the useful life of that boiler is only 8 years. How does any of this make any economic sense?
How do I access this green deal funding? Can I ring my bank to sort it out for me. Interested in doing underfloor insulation.
Hi Patricia, you can’t Green Deal Finance conventionally through a bank or building society. You will need to find a Green Deal Provider that provides Green Deal Finance, have an accepted quote for the works from their installer and have an approved Green Deal Plan. Only at that point will you be able to access Green Deal Finance.
I am looking for more information on how to access the funding for the Green Deal. I heard the policy came back this year, but am struggling to find out the next steps anywhere on the internet. I am looking to install external wall insulation with the Green Deal and utilise its low interest finance with some CERO ECO funding. Do you know any providers now that are offering this whole package. I have called a few from the Green Deal Orb website, but all I get are, ‘come back to use in a month’ type responses.
Hi Toni, the Green Deal has been relaunched, but the number of companies involved has been reduced dramatically. It is no longer Government backed – instead the financing will be offered by a private company. We will definitely share more information on the new Green Deal as and when it becomes available, but I think this initial re-launch is a very softly softly approach to see the software supporting the process works etc.
I had solar PV panels installed under the green deal finance a couple of years ago. We are just in the process of selling our house but one of the buyer’s solicitors raised concerns about being able to sell the property. Do you know if there are any documents I should read or show the solicitors so that they can understand that this is a legitimate scheme and not that rent a roof scheme which may people signed up on.
How do I find a green deal assessor who is part of the ‘new’ green deal scheme. I am very conscious our new boiler is on its last legs. I want to get it replaced before winter but would like to take advantage of the green deal to help cover some of the costs. I have read though that not all green deal surveys / reports are accepted, so is there a way to check which companies are genuine or not or do you think it would be better to avoid all together?
Hi Debbie, there should be genuine assessor and installer companies out there. Best bet is to cross check them against the Green Deal Orb, which is linked here: http://gdorb.decc.gov.uk/green-deal-participant-register
Who in their right mind would go for a deal like this? You are saying 10% interest for this Green Deal scheme. I can borrow you money, charge you interest and still make a fair return without having to rip you off. Another Government scheme this Green Deal that hasn’t been thought through. I am not a nimbi but we can’t install energy efficiency at all costs, especially as we have had this disaster in London. That is my 2 penny’s worth for today
Hi Ken,
Thanks for your comment – yes the rate is high, but the scheme does obviously appeal to people as over £50m of loans were taken out under the old iteration of the scheme. It is certainly cheaper than get money via the pay day loan schemes. I take your point though, 10% is high – but as mentioned I think the reason the Green Deal interest rate is so high is just because of the term of the loan (12 years plus).
Very useful. Thanks for sharing!
Just a thought i have just decided to have a new boiler from British Gas (have been with them for forty years) and i noticed on their blog that a Green Deal Government cash back is mentioned. Is there such a thing and would i qualify?. No date has been set yet for the installation – hoping to do this Monday. All advice welcome. Thank you.
Hi Pat,
I would strongly recommend getting local gas safe engineers to quote in addition to British Gas. British Gas tend to be very very expensive compared to local installers and to be honest, the quality of the install will be the same – in fact since local engineers often get work through word of mouth I would even say the service you will get from a local boiler man will be better!
Sorry – and in relation to the Green Deal Government cashback – this scheme closed a couple of years ago.
Hi, I am currently on PIP and have been retired early at 61 due to long term I’ll health and am on low income of about 1100 a month on ESA contributions but just awarded the Support element, I have old Storage Heaters do I qualify for the ECO grant for new storage heaters or central heating, kindest regards Carolyn Chestle