Grants and Schemes

Grants for Insulation - click here
Grants for Renewable Energy - click here

Overview:

There are several energy efficiency schemes and grants available, and they vary from region to region and are run by a variety of organisations. It has recently been confirmed that grants for cavity wall insulation and loft insulation will be available until at least 2011. However, these grants are subject to change at short notice, and it is part of Exact Assessors role to keep fully up to date with the most current grants. The figures outlined here are correct at time of presentation and are updated on a regular basis.

For further advice, please contact us via our contact form and our qualified staff will be able to advise you of the best scheme that is specifically suited to your needs.

The Government

The UK Government funds schemes providing up to £2,700 to households on certain benefits (see below for examples of eligibility criteria) to improve their heating and energy efficiency. The eligibility criteria for the schemes differ around the UK - with some schemes you need to be in receipt of certain benefits, whilst others are available to anyone over a certain age.

Examples of eligibility criteria - If you own your own home or rent it from a private landlord and if:

• You are 60 years or older and are in receipt of one or more benefits. Benefits include: income support, council tax benefit, housing benefit, job seekers allowance and pension credit.
• You have a child under 16 or you are pregnant and have been given maternity MAT B1 and are also in receipt of benefits such as income support, council tax benefit etc.
• You are in receipt of one or more benefits such as disability living allowance, child tax credit with an income of less than £15,460, housing benefit and disability premium etc.

Energy Suppliers

The Government's Energy Efficiency Commitment means energy suppliers with a certain number of customers operating in Great Britain are obliged to achieve targets for improving home energy efficiency. The suppliers therefore provide a range of offers which significantly reduce the cost of installing energy efficiency measures. What's more, you can take up offers from any of the energy companies, regardless of who supplies your gas and electricity.

Local authorities

Most Local authorities provide grants and offers for local residents to install certain energy efficiency measures in their home.

Grants for insulation

Loft : Client Contributions (the amount that you pay) vary between £249.00 and £349.00, dependent on your property location and available grants, property type, fuel type and the amount of insulation that is needed to bring your loft insulation up to the current Building Regulations of 270mm.

Cavity Wall: Client Contributions, vary between £249.00 and £349.00, dependent on your property location and available grants and providing the property falls within the size parameters set by the schemes.

Remember, if you receive any of the qualifying benefits listed below, the client contribution is zero, therefore enabling you to have your property insulated free of charge.

> Attendance Allowance
> Council Tax Benefit
> Disability Living allowance
> Housing Benefit
> Pension Credit
> Income Support
> Income based Job Seekers Allowance
> Child Tax Credit*
> Working Tax Credit*

*if the household income is less than £14,600 per annum.

Grants for Renewables

There are several grant schemes which offer funding to small scale renewables, particularly for the domestic and community sector.

The Government's Clear Skies funding programme was replaced by the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) in April 2006. The new programme is managed by the Energy Saving Trust and offers grants for domestic, community and larger microgeneration installations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In November 2005, the Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks MP announced £30 million of funding over 3 years for the LCBP. In March 2006's budget statement, it was announced that there would be a further £50 million for the programme. Under the LCBP there are two streams of funding available, Stream 1 and Stream 2.

Stream 1 offers grants for householders and small to medium enterprises to install microgeneration on small buildings, as well as for non-profit community organisations such as registered charities, community groups, local authorities and schools to install microgeneration on community buildings.

The level of grants offered for wind energy under Stream 1 are:
* For individual householders & small businesses a maximum of £1,000 per kW installed, up to a maximum of £5,000 subject to an overall 30% limit of the installed cost (exclusive of VAT).
* For community applications, grants will be up to 50% of the capital and installation cost of the microgeneration technologies installed and is currently set at a maximum of £50,000. These grants will be awarded competitively.

For Active Solar Water Heating, Government grants of £400 are available on completion.

Government grants for solar PV systems are provided under the Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme, which is managed by the Energy Saving Trust. You can find out more details at www.est.co.uk/solar/.

The LCBP is also the main source of funding for small-scale ground-source heat pumps installations. For ground-source heat pumps and hydro-scheme developments, the Energy Saving Trust website, www.est.org.uk, provides links to an online ‘grant finder’. This allows you to search for the grants for which you are eligible, according to your circumstances and postcode.