Home instillation grants

HOME INSULATION GRANT

If you are eligible for support, your energy firm will do a survey and pay for improvements that will make your home more efficient

The UK Government’s just put out a cool grant to help people insulate their homes. ECO+ is here and ready to get you money for insulation upgrade. Sounds too good to be true? The £1bn scheme builds on the already existing Energy Company Obligation (ECO). So, if you’re living in social housing, are fuelled poor or on a low income, don’t miss this chance! ECO+ is aimed at helping middle earners, though around a fifth of the fund will also be targeted to those who are the most vulnerable, the Government said. Here’s everything you need to know about the scheme, including who will be eligible and how it will be work. WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE NEW INSULATION GRANT?

To be eligible for the scheme, both of the following must apply: You live in council tax band A-D in England, A-E in Wales Your home has an energy efficiency rating of D or below (energy efficiency ratings run from A-G, with A being the best and G the worst) Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said: “This money is for people who have not been able to benefit from the previous schemes and will help hundreds of thousands of homes.” HOW WILL THE GRANT WORK?

If you are eligible for support, your energy firm will do a survey and pay for improvements that will make your home more efficient. The types of improvements on offer include low-cost measures such as draft proofing and loft and installing cavity wall insulation. The scheme will run for three years, starting from the spring of 2023. The average cost per household is expected to be £1,500. The Government has said that the measures will save households an average of £310 per year on their energy bills.

The Government is also launching an £18m information campaign that will give the public advice on “how they can save hundreds on their own bills without sacrificing comfort”. THIS INCLUDES PROMOTING ACTIONS SUCH AS:

Reducing the temperature a boiler heats water to before it is sent to radiators (known as the boiler flow temperature) from 75ºC to 60ºC Turning down radiators in empty rooms Reducing heating loss from a property such as by draught proofing windows and doors Mr Shapps said: “The Government put immediate help in place to support households in the wake of global energy price rises caused by Putin’s illegal march on Ukraine. Today, we launch the first of many measures to ensure the British public are never put in this position again as we work towards an energy independent future. “A new ECO scheme will enable thousands more to insulate their homes, protecting the pounds in their pockets, “And in the short term, our new public information campaign will also give people the tools they need to reduce their energy use while keeping warm this winter.” However, the scheme has also been criticised, with Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds telling BBC News the measures were “so late when we should have been doing so much more for so many years previously”. Adam Scorer, chief executive of National Energy Action, said the “scheme is not designed to reach the most vulnerable, it’s designed to reach people who haven’t been able to benefit from previous schemes. “We believe government focus should be on the worst first, helping people in the greatest risk, the greatest jeopardy, more of this money should be going to help them,” he said.