Why? Because Rishi Sunak has put a great deal on the table.
ENCOURAGING FACT
The UK’s Committee on Climate Change is calling for homes built from 2025 to no longer be on the gas grid.
The race for slashed emissions by 2030 is on, and on Monday the £2 billion Green Homes Grant goes live. Hurrah. Designed to help us make our homes more energy efficient, it’s one of the top 3 things that we can do about our own carbon footprint. It’s a biggie.
The details in a nutshell:
What it can be used for: There are primary and secondary measures that qualify:
Primary:
1. Insulation (walls, roof, room)
2. Low carbon heating (heat pumps, solar panels and biomass pellet boilers)
Secondary:
3. Windows and doors (draught proofing, glazing, energy efficient doors)
4. Heating controls and thermostats
The sum: Up to two-thirds of the cost are covered (max. voucher value of £5,000). If you’re on certain income support you could get the full cost covered up to £10,000. Whatever you spend on the Primary measures is the cap for any Secondary measures - e.g. £400 spent on insulation will allow £400 to be spent on heating controls.
The impact: It’s big. Gas is bad. Electricity from non-renewables is bad. Wasting heat is bad. This goes a long way towards fixing it. When you consider that 40% of the UK carbon budget comes from individual households, with half of that from heating and electricity, if we’re serious about our contribution, this is one we can’t afford to miss!
Great! So how do we sort it?
You can apply for a voucher from the end of September 2020. Check your eligibility and the energy improvements that qualify here.
Works have to be completed by 31 March 2021 so we need to get our skates on. By the time we’ve investigated the options, had quotes, booked someone in, they’ve had lot’s of cups of tea between tasks etc, we’ll be nearly into spring before it’s done!
Will it cost me?
Well, you’ll need to put in your 1/3. It’ll save you a ton vs doing the whole thing yourself though and you’ll save in energy bills too, possibly by quite a lot.
Have something to ask or share ? Please post it in the box below. And…is there something you’re proud of, big or small (CEE bill signed, kitchen towels dumped…) Email us, so we can feature you on our Weekly Shout Out. It’s a real boost for everyone!
We…
Aimee: I live in a new build property and so it’s already well-insulated, good windows, etc. I’m making a mental note to check out biomass pellet boilers when my combi boiler needs replacing. For now, I'm spending my time researching Passivhaus designed houses, which Sara (from our community) told us about recently. Have you heard of them?
Sonia: I live in a Victorian terrace and have a stack to sort. So I’m just delighted about this.
“Every little (and a lot) helps”