How to get the Green Homes Grant worth up to £10,000
The Green Homes Grant worth up to £10,000 is now available and here’s how you can get one.
It’s a voucher scheme to help with the costs of upgrading the energy efficiency of homes and the government will issue you with one if you meet all the requirements.
Only homeowners, including owner occupiers and social/private landlords in England can apply to the £2 billion Green Homes Grant scheme and the government will cover up to two-thirds of the cost of energy-saving improvements in the home.
For most of us, the maximum voucher amount will be £5,000 but households on low incomes, receiving benefits, will be eligible for up to 100 per cent funding, up to a maximum of £10,000.
Primary and secondary measures
The scheme has two elements – primary and secondary measures, both of which will cover some costs of improvements, such as energy-saving insulation or low-carbon heating, to fitting smart heating controls, like Radbot, which make sure your energy use is optimised.
The government advises people to use the Simple Energy Advice service for detailed advice (check the links at the end of this article). The service allows you to check eligibility and confirm the range of home improvements.
After that, it’s simply a question of completing a short online survey about your home and its occupants to pinpoint exactly the measures that you might choose to take. Simple Energy Advice will suggest options with cost estimates.
The government insists that all the work is carried out by approved tradespeople and the service will provide you with the contact details of local eligible experts, approved through TrustMark or the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).
March deadline
It’s a good idea to move quickly on this as the will be only a limited number of approved tradespeople and the demand might be high where you live. Bear in mind that you must redeem the voucher and ensure improvements are completed by March 31st next year.
You may already have decided on the energy improvement you would like but you will still need to complete the survey so you can access information on eligible tradespeople, who are the only ones able to redeem the vouchers.
When you apply for the voucher, you have to include not only details of your chosen improvements but also the tradespeople who will do the work. That means making sure all those involved in the project visit your home and quote for the measures, with surveys as needed. The advice is to get quotes from at least three different tradespeople.
So what improvements are covered by the scheme?
Vouchers must be used to install at least one primary home insulation or low carbon heating measure.
You must install at least one of the primary measures listed below in order to qualify for help towards the costs of secondary measures. The amount for secondary measures is capped at the value of the subsidy provided for the primary measures. So, to take one example, if you receive £400 for a primary measure such as a cavity wall insulation, you will be able to receive a maximum of £400 for a secondary measure like a replacement door that reduces drafts and so saves on energy.
Primary Measures
Insulation:
- Solid wall
- Cavity wall
- Under-floor insulation (solid floor; suspended floor)
- Loft
- Flat roof
- Room in roof
- Park home insulation.
Low carbon heat (where the home is well insulated):
- Air source heat pump
- Ground source heat pump
- Solar thermal
- Biomass pellet boilers.
Secondary Measures
Windows and doors (draught proofing):
- Double/triple glazing (replacing single glazing)
- Secondary glazing (additions to single glazing)
- Energy efficient replacement doors (replacing single glazed or solid doors installed before 2002)
Heating controls and insulation:
- Hot water tank thermostats
- Hot water tank insulation
- Heating controls (e.g. Radbot and other smart heating controls, zone controls, intelligent delayed start thermostat and thermostatic radiator valves).
Bear in mind that you will not be able to claim vouchers towards the cost of measures that have also received funding under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), but, you can claim both ECO and Green Homes Grant subsidy if they are each for different measures, for example cavity wall insulation and loft insulation.
You can claim both the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and the Green Home Grant for the renewable heat installation The RHI gives helps cover renewable heating costs in your home, with regular payments for 7 years, based on the amount of renewable heat made by your heating system. But you must claim the green grant first and then notify Ofgem that you have used it when you apply for accreditation to the RHI. The Green Homes Grant will then be deducted from your RHI payments. You can apply for green grant vouchers both before and after accreditation to the RHI.
To check eligibility and find home improvements with the Simple Energy Advice service check here.
The Green Homes Grant scheme is only available in England but there are sources of help available for energy-saving home improvements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For Scotland, check with Home Energy Scotland, in Wales try Nest, and in in Northern Ireland contact NI Energy Advice.