GOING GREEN
Rishi Sunak’s mini-Budget confirms £5,000 energy saving voucher for households
CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has revealed homeowners will be given £5,000 in energy saving vouchers to help them insulate their homes.
The most vulnerable households will get up to £10,000 to help make their houses more environmentally friendly.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
1
The Green Homes Grant scheme will be available to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners.
In today's mini-Budget it was announced that the government will provide extra work for plumbers, builders and tradesmen and help the Covid-hit economy recover.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: "From September, homeowners and landlords will be able to apply for vouchers to make their homes more energy efficient and create local jobs.
"The grants will cover at least two thirds of the cost, up to £5,000 per household.
"And for low income households, we’ll go even further with vouchers covering the full cost - up to £10,000."
Homeowners will be able to use the money on loft, wall and floor insulation, eco-friendly boilers, heat pumps, double or triple-glazed windows, low-energy lighting and energy-efficient doors.
How much do different energy saving measures cost?
There are many different energy saving options to help you cut your bills. We've rounded them up here.
- Insulation - If you want to do the job yourself, MyBuiler.com says a roll of loft insultation, which needs to be around 270mm thick, can cost just £20 per roll. But if you want to hire a specialist to do the job properly, it could cost you between £300 and £400.
- Eco-friendly boilers - An electric combi boiler, which does not release any gas into the atmosphere, costs £1,500 - £4,500.
- Heat pumps - A a typical air source heat pump installation will cost you around £6,000 – £8,000, while a ground source heat pump installation can cost £10,000 – £18,000, depending on the amount of heat required.
- Triple-glazed windows - The price tends to depend on how many windows you're glazing and the size of your home, but to replace four windows with triple glazing in a two bedroom flat costs around £1,950, according to HouseHold quotes.
- Low-energy lighting - Energy efficient light bulbs are very cheap, with a standard 6W Led one costing just £1.49 from B&Q.
- Solar panels - The average domestic solar PV system is 3.5kWp and costs around £4,800.
Brits will be able to access a website from September that will have a menu with various options for making their home more energy efficient.
On the website, there will also be a list of accredited suppliers, which the government says will create work for tradesmen across the country.
The chancellor said the scheme could save you £300 a year on your energy bills.
The Government will cover at least two thirds of the cost that homeowners in England spend on green upgrades, while those on the lowest incomes will not have to pay anything.
This means that a householder would pay £1,320 of the £4,000 bill for cavity wall and floor insulation for a semi-detached or end-terrace house, while the Government would pick up £2,680 of the bill.
Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch.com, welcomed the move and said it would help families cut energy costs.
What was announced in the mini-Budget?
CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has announced a £30billion "plan for jobs
The changes were announced in what's been described as a "mini-Budget" following the coronavirus.
Here's what the Chancellor announced:
- Young people hired by firms will get their wages subsidised by the government under its £2billion Kickstart Scheme
- House buyers will see stamp duty cut on homes up to £500,000 until next year - we've explained how it will work
- Households will get £5,000 in energy saving vouchers to help them insulate their homes - here's what you need to know
- Businesses will be given a £1,000 bonus for each employee they bring back from furlough
- Pubs and restaurant bills will be slashed by £10 a head in August
- VAT will be cut from 20 per cent to 5 per cent for businesses in the hospitality and tourism industry
She said: "The extra heating and electricity used during lockdown is predicted to add £195 a year to the average home’s bills.
"So the Chancellor’s initiative to help hundreds of thousands of people make their homes more energy efficient couldn’t come at a better time - especially as energy consumption is set to hike as soon as the temperatures drop."
But Mark Gutteridge, CEO of auto energy switch site Flipper had one major reservation.
He said: "With the Government only offering to pay two-thirds of the cost, I can see take up being very low.
"Many households won't want or be able to fund the balance of the cost of these improvements which will be £100's - £1'000's."
Most read on money
In other mini-budget announcements, the government has slashed stamp duty as part of the budget masterplan.
Meanwhile, a Coronavirus second wave could make one in seven unemployed, the OECD has warned.
But here are six industries that will boom after Covid-19 and what jobs will be on offer.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma explains how energy bill voucher scheme will work as part of Rishi Sunak's £3bn package
Topics