The Government Green Homes Grant – Overview…
2020 has proven to be an unpredictable and challenging year. In order for the British population to get back to a bit of normality, the Government are introducing initiatives and supplementing various things to get the economy moving again. Schemes such as the stamp duty holiday and discounts on dining has been spoken about in recent weeks and months, but one thing that is especially relevant to Origin – and we keep getting asked about - is the Green Homes Grant.
Therefore, we thought we would outline what information is available and run through the most frequently asked questions to demonstrate our involvement.
The Green Homes Grant is a government initiative that will grant access for up to £10,000 to be available to each family/ home in the form of vouchers for home improvements that will improve a home’s energy efficiency.
The new scheme will see the government fund up to two-thirds of the cost of home improvements, with the total value being able to be claimed is up to £5,000 per household (£10,000 for low income households).
Vouchers will be able to be spent on loft, wall and floor insulation, low carbon heating, draught-proofing, heating controls and insulation, double or triple-glazed windows, and energy efficient doors.
The scheme is set into two categories – primary and secondary, and in order to qualify for the secondary measures, you must have had primary upgrades made. The government will also only match secondary spend as to what was spent on the primary. See the questions for what is classified as primary and secondary.
Homeowners will be able to access advice from the end of August and, once the work is agreed, vouchers will start to be issued from the end of September.
Only tradespeople registered with the TrustMark or Microgeneration Certification Scheme will be allowed to carry out the work, and homeowners will be offered a list of accredited tradespeople in their area.
The government is expecting the measures to make over 600,000 homes more energy efficient that could help families save up to £600 a year on their energy bills.
Below we outlined some of the most frequently asked questions:
Q&A
Q. What is the Green Home Grants Scheme?
A. The Green Home Grants Scheme is a new scheme that has been introduced by the UK Government. The aim of the scheme is to enable homeowners and landlords in England to upgrade their homes and properties with energy-saving features and are supplementing the cost of this through a grant.
Q. When will the grant be available?
A. The grant is expected to launch in September 2020 and will be available until the end of March 2021.
Q. How will the Green Homes Grant work?
A. The Government will give homeowners in England vouchers towards the cost of energy efficient improvements, which should cover much – and in some cases – all of the cost.
The aim of the scheme is to help homeowners and promote energy efficiency, but also to help boost the economy during the Coronavirus pandemic by creating jobs.
Q. What will the vouchers cover?
A. The Green Homes Grant will cover a variety of energy saving home improvements split into two categories – Primary and Secondary measures. To qualify for vouchers, you will need to be installing at least one of the following Primary measures that include:
- Wall, under-floor, roof and loft insulation
- Air or ground source heat pumps
- Solar thermal systems
If you are installing at least one of the improvements above, you'll also be able to use the vouchers to install the following Secondary measures:
- Double glazing, triple glazing, and secondary glazing (but only if you are replacing single glazing)
- Energy efficient doors, where you're replacing doors installed before 2002
- Draught proofing
- Hot water tank/ appliance tank thermostats/ heating controls, as well as thermostatic radiator valves, smart heating controls, or zone controls
Q. How much will the vouchers be worth?
A. For most homeowners, the vouchers will be worth about two-thirds of the cost of the energy efficient improvements, up to a maximum of £5,000 per household. For example, a homeowner installing cavity wall and floor insulation costing £4,000 would only pay about £1,320, with the Government contributing the remaining £2,680 through the voucher scheme.
Those on low incomes will be able to get more – in that case, the Government will cover the full cost of the energy efficient improvements, so there will be no cost involved and the vouchers could be worth up to £10,000 per household.
Q. How can I apply for a voucher?
A. The current government advice is that homeowners will be able to access advice and support from the Simple Energy Advice service (SEA) about making their homes more energy efficient from late August.
The SEA service will then suggest home improvements for which homeowners can apply for funding, and homeowners will be offered a list of approved registered tradespeople in their area to carry out the work.
Once the work is agreed, vouchers will start to be issued from the end of September.
Q. Will any firm be able to do this – or just specific installers?
A. Homeowners will be offered a list of accredited tradespeople in their area who are registered with the scheme to carry out the work. Homeowners will need to select a partner who is registered on the scheme in order to be eligible. To be part of the scheme, tradespeople must register for TrustMark or the Microgeneration Certification Scheme accreditation.
Info for Origin Partners….
“Tradespeople are urged to sign up for TrustMark accreditation as part of the new Green Homes Grant scheme.”
Builders, door and window fitters and other tradespeople across England will need this government-backed seal of approval to provide their services as part of the new £2 billion Green Homes Grant going live at the end of September.
Tradespeople must register for TrustMark or Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation to take part in the scheme.
TrustMark is the government-endorsed quality scheme covering work a consumer chooses to have carried out on their home. Households will be offered a list of approved TrustMark and MCS registered tradespeople in their local area to carry out the work and only approved and accredited installers will be able to be commissioned, ensuring high standards and consumer protection.
Once the works are agreed, vouchers will start to be issued from the end of September so work can commence.
Fenestration improvements are covered within the scheme as secondary measures and include:
- Double or triple glazing/secondary glazing, when replacing single glazing
- Upgrading to energy efficient doors when they are replacing doors installed before 2002.
However, homeowners can only receive funding for these Secondary measures if they are installing at least one of the Primary measures. Additionally, funding can only be up to the value of, and no more than, the Primary measures.
How to become a TrustMark registered business
Follow this link to start your application:
https://www.trustmark.org.uk/tradespeople/join-through-trustmark
Useful Documents Links:
- Trustmark Code of Conduct
- Framework Operating Requirements
- Customer Charter
For more information on TrustMark, visit https://www.trustmark.org.uk/ghgs
