The Government have delayed the full implementation of the RHI so that it co-ordinates with the Green Deal. The Green Deal in it?s simplest from is a low cost loan for home owners and SME?s to make improvements to the energy efficiency of their property.
The golden rule that all improvements and lending must meet, is that the monetary value of energy saving must be greater than the loan repayment. Other key features are that the loan will be repaid through the energy bills and as such is tied to the property not the person. So if you move whilst they are still repayments outstanding the incoming tenant takes over the repayment of the loan (they will be benefiting from a more energy efficient property).
An independent advisor will be required to carry out an assessment on the property to make sure that the energy efficient improvements are valid and that they will have a significant energy saving. It is likely that the existing Energy Performance Certificate will be used as part of this assessment.
If a property is not fully insulated it is likely to be a requirement that the property is insulated before any renewable installations are given funding via the Green Deal.
However the criteria has not been set and will not be until the autumn 2011 with the scheme due to go live October 2012, so there is plenty of time for the government to move the goal posts and add several layers of un-needed administration!
