The Green Deal, launched on Monday, will offer households a loan of up to £10,000 to make their homes greener.
Millions of UK households can now benefit from an energy saving scheme launched by the government on Monday.
The Green Deal will offer each household a loan of up to £10,000 to make their homes greener, investing in solar panels, insulation and a possible 43 other energy saving or generating devices.
The scheme was thought up in 2010 as a way to make the UK’s ‘leaky buildings’ more efficient and a possible 26 million homes are now eligible for the deal.
A further 2.8 million commercial properties could benefit by 2030.
Speaking on the new initiative at the National Home Improvement Show in Kensington Olympia last weekend, Real Homes journalist Jennifer Newton said: “The big thing about this is the golden rule – and you’ll hear this bandied around quite a bit now.
“The golden rule states for how much money’s invested you don’t invest more than the savings you’ll make from the energy efficient means.”
Unlike a personal loan, homeowners will make repayments through their electricity bills and will only pay back money as they save it in energy costs.
For example, if you save £15 every month through the improvements, you will only need to repay £15 per month.
The loan has a lower interest rate than normal personal loans, there is no credit check and the repayment is spread over 25 years.
The scheme has been met with some criticism this week, with critics highlighting the fact that no major retailer has yet signed up as they are ‘waiting to see’ how it unfolds.
The government are even considering introducing cash incentives to get the scheme off the ground.
Homeowners can now apply for an assessment of their homes from a green deal provider, who will decide which improvements they are eligible for.
A separate company will then be called in to organise the installation, the money passing straight from the finance providers to the installers.
The finance for the deal will be available from the 28th of January.
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