Training of ‘go early’ Green Deal assessors is going well despite some teething troubles, according to the organisation overseeing the training process, but assessors are reporting that the GDA software is still not completed, complicating training courses.
Asset Skills, the sector skills council for housing, property and planning, expects the first GDAs to be trained by October, when Green Deal is due to launch, and all of them should be trained by the end of the year.
Sometimes it may seem like energy saving can take a lot of effort. The rewards are more than worth it but sometimes we need more. We need help. We need it to be fun!
Several people at work may have done their bit for the environment by ditching their cars in a morning and hopping on their bicycles, but for many this simply isn’t an option. It’s time-consuming, unpractical and not everyone has the energy to jump back on their bike after a hard days slog at work! So, how can you get more for your money for your petrol and do a little bit for the environment?
According to a new report conducted by Professor Gordon Hughes, by 2020 the average UK household could expect to be paying a whopping 58% more on their electricity bills because of the Government’s ‘obsession’ with wind power. Taking the average up to more than £300 extra per year, the report throws into question just how much of an impact the Government’s green plans will have on the UK.
The Economy 7 energy tariff is very popular in the UK; particularly with people who use electricity to heat their home. The basic principle is that the tariff makes electricity far cheaper at night than during the day; meaning you can save money by heating your home at night. This is a good idea in theory as a number of people are at work during the day and do not need their heating on. The tariff is also designed with storage heaters, which allow you to conserve heat on the cheap rate and release it during the day, in mind.
Putting a renewable energy source in your home is often regarded as an investment. Weighing up the costs of installing a system against the money it will produce is in essence the decision. Therefore, understanding Feed In Tariffs (FIT) is vital in deciding whether to have a renewable energy source at your home.
With solar panels popping up on rooftops everywhere it is no surprise that solar power is one of the most popular forms of renewable energy. Particularly, the Feed In Tariffs (FIT) has made solar panels more viable either through owning your own panels or through ‘rent your roof’ schemes.
It’s not until you start going round your home turning off lights, turning things off standby and reducing the heat on the thermostat that you realise at just how many points you are using energy. Everything, from charging your little electric toothbrush to cooking the family dinner at night is consuming energy and contributing to your household bills. But to really understand just which appliances are using the most energy in your home, it is important you understand just how energy works.
With the rising energy prices, the increasing pinch we feel in our wallets and the warnings of major climate changes due to the emissions of carbon dioxide, it is vital that we are as efficient as possible with our energy usage.
That’s NOT official, but it seems to be pretty unanimous
Assessors should expect a very slow start to Green Deal, and newly-qualified GDAs will have to work very hard to make any headway, given the likelihood of considerable public ignorance, suspicion and apathy.
Under the Green Deal scheme due to commence in October this year, utility bill payers will have the opportunity to have energy saving measures installed at their property with no upfront costs, via a Green Deal finance package. In every arrangement there are three key players, the green deal advisor, the green deal provider and the green deal installer.
Accreditation bodies are gearing up for a training bonanza as the first candidates for Green Deal Advisor status prepare to begin training courses within days.
The first cohort of candidates will start training as ‘go early’ Green Deal Advisors in July, in readiness for the introduction of the Green Deal within a few months.
The government has begun putting in place the final elements of Green Deal, and is still looking at 1 October as the launch date, though the Department of Energy and Climate Change is now openly talking about a ‘soft launch’, and the actual launch seems unlikely to take place until the new year.
Carbon zero homes are part of the Government’s plan to reduce carbon emissions from residential properties, which make up 30% of all the CO2 the UK produces. It is hoped that all new homes built from 2016 will be carbon neutral, but there are many developers who are already blazing a trail.
The feed in tariff (FIT) was introduced on 1s April 2010 by the Labour Government to encourage us to install equipment in our homes and businesses which generates electricity using low or zero carbon producing “fuels” such as wind, sun or water. People who install energy generating equipment such as solar panels or wind turbines and register for the feed in tariff can receive a payment for each kilowatt hour of electricity they generate. They can then either use the electricity themselves (so saving on electricity bills) or sell it back to the National Grid in return for a slightly higher payment per kilowatt hour.
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