The government has confirmed that it has set aside £70 million in funding for the third round of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF).
The third round will open for now applications on 16 March, with successful applicants able to claim up to £5,6000 to install energy saving measures in their homes.
Energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey said: “We’re helping families keep warmer for less – driving bills down by encouraging more competition between energy suppliers and making over one million homes more energy efficient.
“Households up and down the country are reaping the benefits of a warmer home thanks to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund. And now, with more money available, thousands more can benefit.”
The energy efficiency scheme has come under criticism after the previous two rounds of GDHIF suffered from sudden closures due to “overwhelming public demand”. Martin Lewis, founder and editor of MoneySavingExpert.com, warned potential customers to act fast to avoid disappointment. He said: “There’s nothing that generates action better than free cash – which is what effectively the Home Improvement Fund is. So yet again demand is likely to be huge – the first time it was done £120 million went in six weeks, then £24 million went within 48 hours, so this time I suspect £70 million to last not much longer than a week.
“I’d suggest anyone who has already had a Green Deal assessment to be ready to pounce to make sure they aren’t left out in the cold. For those who haven’t but are interested, first do a quick online check which will tell you if it’s worth getting an assessment, if it is, then try and arrange one as soon as possible.”
The government recently published its new fuel poverty strategy which includes a legally binding target which stipulates that as many fuel poor houses as “reasonably practicable” should be energy efficiency Band C or higher by 2030.
The Association for the Conservation of Energy (ACE) has expressed concern over the phasing of the strategy, stating that it was “worried about the caveat that households will only be improved ‘as far as reasonably practicable’.” ACE added: “This should be removed or at the very least tightly defined to ensure that it cannot be used by future governments as an excuse for failing to implement the strategy.”
