The country has moved a step closer to the Government’s flagship Green Deal, with the news that the Energy Act became law yesterday.
The Green Deal aims to make homes more energy efficient
The Green Deal is set to launch next Autumn, and aims to make homes across the UK more energy efficient. Passing the Energy Act will allow approved Green Deal providers to offer finances upfront to homeowners and businesses interested in implementing energy saving home improvements.
The passing of the law will set in stone the legal framework for the Green Deal, and enable approved Green Deal providers to offer upfront finance deals to businesses, private landlords, and householders to cover the cost of energy efficiency improvements, removing the upfront cost.
The cost of the work will be repaid through an increase in home energy bills and notably, the loans will be attached to the property, rather than the person benefiting from the Green Deal scheme.
With more than half of UK homes having insufficient insulation, the scheme will able consumers to improve their properties by installing a range of measures including loft insulation, draught proofing and cavity wall insulation.
“The coalition is doing all it can to bear down on energy prices, but insulation will provide the long-term help to manage bills,” commented Chris Huhne, energy and climate change secretary.
“The Green Deal will help people insulate against rising energy prices, creating homes which are warmer and cheaper to run,” added a spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
With rising energy prices and more and more households facing fuel poverty, any initiative designed to make homes warmer and cheaper to run is long over due. But at what cost; only time will tell.