Green Deal latest – Plumb Center responds

SALISBURY, U.K. - June 28, 2013 - PRLog -- The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has released the first quarterly Green Deal statistics, which show almost 40,000 people have had an assessment carried out.

The key figures up to the 16 June are:

• 38,259 homes have had a Green Deal assessment
•  A rise in assessments every month: 7,491 in March, 9,522 in April, 12,146 in May
• 241 customers have obtained a quote from a Green Deal Provider and have confirmed they wish to make energy efficient improvements to their home
• 4 customers have signed up to a Green Deal Plan and progress is being made to install energy efficient measures
• 961 people have claimed cashback for a new boiler installation – 902 gas and 59 oil boilers
• 1,254 installer organisations are accredited and qualified to work within the Green Deal.

Plumb Center’s Head of Sustainability Tim Pollard gives his view:  

“The latest figures are very promising. 40,000 assessments is a significant marketplace and installers will know that represents more than a fad - I can’t imagine any installer not thinking it’s a good thing.

“Having an assessment is good value. The fact householders get a professional report, which lists the measures their property can benefit from, and quantifies the savings, is a massive step forward.

“The early adopters are the people who are passionate about the scheme. We’ve had those now and I might be an eternal optimist, but I think more people will start to get on board.

“It’s also very interesting to see almost 1,000 people have replaced their old boiler with a high-efficiency one, and claimed Green Deal cashback. If the UK is going to hit its carbon targets, we need homes to use high-efficiency heating systems, so it’s great to see leaky boilers are on the way out.

“Inevitably there’s been a lot of ill-founded criticism about Green Deal because it took longer to start than some thought it would, and maybe uptake hasn’t been as quick as they thought. But the people at the heart of Green Deal knew it wasn’t going to produce a tsunami of demand at the start, it was going to be a scheme of longevity and the time to judge is at its end, not its beginning.”