Eco friendly homes aren’t just great news for the environment, they’re also good news for homeowners. Because eco friendly homes are energy efficient, this means that they consume less energy on a daily basis. And because they consume less energy, this means the potential for incredible savings for the homeowner in utility bill reductions. Over time, these savings can run into the thousands of pounds.
Eco Friendly Building and Retrofitting
With this in mind, it would seem like a sensible move for every home to be made as eco friendly as possible. Indeed, new homes being built in the UK are now tending to be designed according to sustainable guidelines. But when it comes to retrofitting existing properties, this process isn’t so simple. Not only do many existing properties pose potential problems for retrofitting in terms of their structural design and planning permissions, but the cost of retrofitting for sustainability is simply out of the reach of many homeowners.
How the Green Deal Can Help
Travis Perkins, one of the leading suppliers of building materials in the UK, are offering a solution to homeowners who wish to improve the energy performance of their homes, but who don’t have the available funds to do so. This solution is known as the Green Deal.
The Green Deal is a financial scheme which offers monetary aid to homeowners, specifically for the purpose of retrofitting their properties for energy efficiency. The types of installations which this financing is available for include:
- Insulation for walls, lofts and cavities.
- Energy generating equipment (solar panels, air source heat pumps etc).
- Heating controls.
- Water efficient taps and showerheads.
- Energy efficient boilers.
How Does It Work?
All Green Deal retrofits are carried out by authorised contractors. There are no up-front costs to the homeowner, and payment for the retrofit is covered by a loan offered to the property owner.
However this is no ordinary loan. Because retrofitting of this kind is designed to save money, a Green Deal loan can usually be paid off with the savings that result from the homeowner’s lowered utility bills. And when the loan is paid off, the homeowner will continue to experience said savings.
Get Involved with the Green Deal
For anyone who wants to become more actively involved in implementing the Travis Perkins Green Deal, there are green deal training programmes available. These programmes are suitable for anyone in the installation or contracting industries, including those who work in an advisory capacity.
