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Solid Wall Insulation Grants

Let’s firstly get the bad news out of the way. Unlike loft and cavity insulation there are no full

grants for solid wall insulation

and no direct Government grants either for the “able to pay” home-owner looking for effective outside insulation that meets the full costs.

However, there is some funding available to meet part of the costs. For the home-owner wishing to keep warm and have a reasonable heating bill there are some small

external wall insulation grants

available.

Below is a brief summary of the current help available for insulation of external walls in a solid wall property but this does vary over time :

Government Help

The Chancellor of the Exchequer recognises the importance of cutting energy use and has levied a 5% vat rate on external insulation as opposed to a standard rate of 20% . This 15% subsidy is very welcome and it represents a saving of around £1500 on a typical sized 3 bed semi-detached solid wall property.

Freephone 0500 300 407 or click EXTERNAL WALL INSULATION ADVICE to send an email

Energy Company Insulation Grants

Whilst the Utility companies often deserve the bad press they frequently get it is important to remember that the grants for loft, cavity, boilers and hot water tanks are actually funded by the Energy Companies under a legal obligation to save carbon emissions under what is known as the C.E.R.T scheme ie carbon emissions reduction scheme. CERT is due to expire in late 2012 and be replaced with the new

Green Deal

**As of January 2012 there is a new Energy Bill going through Parliament which will lead to a completely new set of Green incentives, Grants and Loans by the end of the year.The Green Deal will be launched in early Autumn and should bring good news for all home-owners.**

However, we can still access a small proportion of these funds for the private home owner who is deemed as “able to pay” and whilst not being as large an incentive as the vat subsidy we would be stupid to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak.

Freephone 0500 300 407 or click EXTERNAL WALL INSULATION ADVICE to send an email

Local Council Help

Unless you have been living on another planet you will be aware of the current financial difficulties facing our local councils and of the need to cut costs and save expenditure and unfortunately this often means job cuts. Despite this position the Councils now have responsibility for the carbon footprint of their borough and under the Decent Homes Scheme they do have a pot of money they can use to upgrade and modernise homes in their local area. Definitely worth a phone call .

Energy Saving Trust

Hugely under-used and under-valued the Energy Saving Trust should be people’s first port of call for energy saving advice,not just for external insulation.
With a national network of Regional Offices this non- profit organisation has access to information and sources of funding that no-one else does. We strongly urge you to tap into this great resource and contact the Trust to see if they can help you save money and energy across a lot of other areas in your home.

Freephone 0500 300 407 or click EXTERNAL WALL INSULATION ADVICE to send an email

Future Outlook for Exterior Insulation Grants

The Greener Homes Report published in early 2011 by the Government lays out the future direction of carbon cutting measures in the UK until 2050 and the best ways to try and hit our obligations under the likes of the Kyoto Agreement on Climate Change.

We won’t bore you with an in depth summary of the 150 pages but the gist of the report is that external insulation to the 7 million solid wall homes in the UK is crucial to hitting our carbon reduction targets and this is a top priority along with solar photovoltaic panels.

The kick in the teeth for private home owners is there are no plans for any Government or Energy Company grants of any sizeable nature for the forseeable future. Rather the strategy is to enable home-owners to link a “green mortgage” to their property and spread the investment costs over a 25 to 30 year period with the annual repayments hopefully being slightly less than the anticipated heating bill savings and thereby incentivising people to take action.
The second plank in the Government’s plan is that they have instructed the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to devise a new valuation measure for properties with wall insulation and major renewable energy technology. This will be designed to reflect the lower running costs of a property in an increased valuation and is likely to be around a 5% premium.
This does sound a very good idea and will be far more of an incentive than the chance of taking out a low interest green mortgage.

Conclusion

With the Government having laid its cards on the table with a detailed plan for the next 40 years and with tough economic times ahead it can be fairly said that there really is no point in delaying fitting external insulation if you are in a postion to do so at the present time . It could be argued that it is highly unlikely that grants will be any better at all in the years ahead and by delaying taking action now then you will continue to pay higher winter heating bills and of course the work itself will only go up in price as the years go by.

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Useful Links
- British Board of Agrement The UK’s major authority offering approval of construction products, systems and installers
- Consumer Direct
- Energy Saving Trust Free, impartial advice & tips on how to save energy & money
- Federation of Master Builders The UK’s leading building trade association
- Guild of Master Craftsmen A trade association representing many different trades and professions
External Wall Insulation Video
The Green Deal