CEO of energy specialists Sustain says the government is right about the Green Deal \u2013 but off target when it comes to who needs incentivising<\/p>\n
The Government is spending \u00a3125Million on incentives for householders who take up the Green Deal, but according to one sustainability expert, it\u2019s the advisers, not the householders, who need incentivising.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a couple of months\u2019 time, householders will be able to get as much as \u00a31000 off the cost of improvements such as boilers, loft insulation, solid wall insulation and replacement windows\u201d said Tobias Parker, CEO of Sustain, one of the UK\u2019s leading sustainability companies. \u201cIt\u2019s a first-come, first-served offer, clearly because, as a flagship policy, the Government wants as many householders as possible to take up the Green Deal in the shortest possible time, so they can claim it a huge success. This is short term pump-priming, and it doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) had thought this through properly, they\u2019d realise that the purchasing decisions of homeowners are more complicated than a voucher scheme would suggest. They are influenced by the advisers, who in many cases will also be the installer and if there are not enough reasons for the adviser to recommend a Green Deal plan where appropriate, then it won\u2019t be recommended and the uptake levels will be low.If a home owner wants a new boiler, for example, and has heard something about the Green Deal, it is likely they will turn to the adviser or installer for more information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe learnt this through the introduction of condensing boilers \u2013 at first installers would dissuade homeowners, who had discount vouchers, from installing condensing boiler, as it was a new technology and required a different practice. But once installers became incentivised, they would actively push the technology and the uptake levels rose dramatically.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a relatively long process that the homeowner and adviser have to go through to get the Green Deal Plan working, and it would be all too easy for the installer to go for a quick cash sale and not make the most of all the measures available.\u201d explained Tobias. \u201cDECC needs to look carefully at what is going to make the adviser advocate Green Deal Plans.\u201d <\/p>\n