How does the green deal work?
The green deal allows energy efficiency improvements to be made and financed to your building with no up front cost as long as the improvement meets the Green Deal’s golden rule.
The golden rule is that efficiency improvements must pay for themselves from the savings in energy that will result from the improvements being carried out. The measures must pay for themselves during the lifetime of the measure itself and once installed will produce a monthly saving in energy costs. This saving will accumulate and repay the measure in full at which point the consumer will enjoy lower energy bills.
Is my business eligible?
Your building can be assessed by an accredited green deal advisor following the production of an energy performance certificate. This will establish which package of improvement measures is appropriate
How do I start?
The process starts with the production of an Energy Performance Certificate for the building. A green deal advisor then goes on to produce a Green Deal Advisory Report which highlights potential improvements to the building. A Green Deal advisor can be located at http://greendealorb.co.uk/consumersearch
Who else is involved in the process?
All parties in the delivery of The Green Deal work within a framework that provides protection to the consumer. The advisor will be associated with a Green Deal Organisation who is accredited with a Green Deal Accreditation Scheme. This way the advisor is quality checked and accountable.
Finance for the improvement measures are agreed with a Green Deal Provider and a Green Deal Plan (a contract) is arranged. The measures are carried out by a Green Deal Installer.
Which measures might be included?
There are 45 measures that qualify for green deal finance and these can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48406/5504-which-energy-efficiency-improvements-qualify-for-g.pdf
What legal protection do I have?
You have rights as a consumer and will be protected under the Consumer Protection Act, Consumer Credit and Data Protection Acts
The Consumer Protection Act 1987: www.legislation.gov.uk
The Data Protection Act 1998: www.ico.gov.uk
The Consumer Credit act 1974: www.oft.gov.uk
What if I sell or move from the building?
The green deal finance is linked to the electricity meter at the building rather than the company or homeowner. This means that the new occupier carries on the arrangement where you left off – their energy bills will be exactly the same rate whether green deal finance has been used or not.
Any Green Deal finance will be shown on the Energy performance Certificate