BAN - Rise of the quangos

A wee while ago my door knocked and a young lady stood there with a leaflet.

'Did I know about the energy savings grants?,' she asked. I had to say I knew of some, but not this one.

And hence I was seduced into a process, culminating in a visit from a surveyor, which resulted in... zippy. Because the house was old, and complex...and.. and, I did not qualify.

Despite this, I was still fairly onside, as it seemed a commitment of funds in areas I can endorse, namely proactive doing.

But now, thanks to a twitter link, I am looking at this (read the comments for a reality check the Brain-strains behind this one will never have):

Ban sales of poorly insulated homes, says Energy Saving Trust

And hence I am thinking not so much of a bonfire of the quangos, as promised, but a Hydra of them. Limitless numbers of offices, people, boards, pay, pensions, perks, comms budgets consuming bazillions all just stopping things. What a lovely metaphor for the age.

And hence I propose the next, and ultimate of them all: BAN - Ban All Now!

CATEGORY - INSULATION

One of the better 'win-wins'. I am lofted up. Shame our walls are solid.

ARTICLES

Guardian - Tread lightly: Install cavity wall insulation

Guardian - Tread lightly: Draught-proof the home

Times - Insulation will pay for itself over years

Times - No windfall tax: it’s energy-saving instead

Indy - Energy efficient households 'can save £270 a year'

Guardian - Yes, do lag your loft - Some great suggestions in the posts, including a few I floated a wee while ago.

Indy - How much energy-saving help can you expect to get?
Indy - Not flash, just Gordon. And that's the problem

Guardian - Mind the gaps – time to insulate and save on heating -

INFORMATION

bricksandbread.com - NEW - Local focus but globally relevant info

Draught Proofing Advisory Association

freeinsulation.co.uk -

nationalinsulationassociation.org.uk

government-grants.co.uk

secondaryglazing.com -

SUPPLIERS

doubleglazingquotes.org -
I wonder how all the various grants/ratings account for those who may want to insulate, but cannot?

Green tech I can get behind

Thermal images make a home's heat loss easy to plug

Like it.

As opposed to blowing bazillions on 'campaigns' or 'officers' to raise 'awareness' on intangibles.

Use the dosh on stuff like this and promoting it sensibly.

I can't think of a home-owner who couldn't see the merits, the benefits and engage.

You might even find few boxes actually get ticked and targets get met that may mean something.

The 'Great British Refurb'

News of this announcement was leaked last week so most of the content, as summarised in The Guardian, is not overtly surprising.

"All (anyone want to bet that that's not true?) UK households will have a green makeover by 2030 under government plans to reduce carbon emissions and cut energy bills.

Cavity wall and loft insulation will be available for all suitable homes, with plans to retrofit 400,000 homes a year by 2015. Financial incentives for householders will also be available for low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, biomass boilers and ground source heat pumps, paid for by a levy on utility companies."

So is this all new? There seems to me to be little difference from any of the previous initiatives, none of which have proved to be particularly successful. There are a couple of points worth noting though:-

Firstly, yet again, these are seen only as targets. Another all process initiative with little productive output other than the favoured box-ticking exercises?

Secondly, if you read it carefully, you will see that the funding is to be provided via a levy on the utility providers, which, as previous attempts at similar initiatives have shown, simply means that, in the end, we pay for it out of our own pockets anyway!

As my Granddad used to say years ago - 'You get nowt for nowt in this life'.

Let's hope that we genuinely get some real 'doing' this time, rather than the usual hot air, spin and target playing. I'll keep my fingers crossed, though I'm not particularly hopeful.

At last, a glimmer

Of hope in common sense, if not much faith in delivery

Quarter of UK homes to be offered a green makeover

In my view, improving home efficiencies to a decent level of enviROI has to be the priority, otherwise any energy generated, no matter how 'greenly', is still being wasted unnecessarily.

Plus there's the small matter of costs, too.

But speaking of money, there is as mentioned that small matter of what is promised vs. what transpires.

Why not over here?

This from a regional Irish Newspaper, the Guardian, highlights just what a government committed to actually doing something (rather than just talking about doing it) can achieve.

"The homeowner will pre-pay €100 towards the cost of this assessment, with Sustainable Energy Ireland subsidising the balance. Approximately two thirds of the cost of this assessment, will therefore, will be covered by the Government. The assessor may advise that the house requires such work as attic insulation, interior or exterior wall insulation, low emissions double-glazing, heating control or a range of other energy efficient works. Grants will then cover up to 30% of the cost of these works, to a maximum of €2,500. On completion of the works a follow-up energy assessment on the building will be undertaken so that there is a 'before and after' test of what has been done."

Simple, assessable, checkable and measurable benefits!

So, the big question is, why have our own Gov's schemes been such a total dog's breakfast, to the point where the majority have now been passed into the hands of the big utility companies? Is it simply that, for our lot, 'talking about doing' is just that much easier then 'doing'?

The heat is on..........

Ok, it's a poor title, but I couldn't resist it. The song was on radio 2 yesterday, and has been running around in my head ever since.

The 'Heat Project' from Enact Energy is the first that I have found that clearly and concisely sets out exactly what is (and isn't) available to householders in terms of insulation grants that are now managed under the Gov's CERT scheme. (You know, the scheme where they make the energy utility companies pay for it!)

Interesting to note that the actual grants were available pre-CERT, under the Home Energy Conservation Act, as far back as 1996! Can't recollect seeing too much publicity about them back then. Perhaps that was because the grants were handled by our local authorities?

Something for nothing ..... for once, yes!!

I've re-read this twice looking for the inevitable get-out clause, but am unable to find one - it really does look like a genuine something for nothing offer ........ providing you are over 70 years of age (or on certain benefits).

As reported in the The Guardian (article is dated Saturday 12th although it is not yet 17:00 on the 11th Jan?), British Gas are offering free loft and cavity wall insulation [worth an average £600 per house] to anyone over the age of 70, and you don't even have to be a customer of British Gas! It appears to be a subset of the government's CERT {Carbon Emissions Reduction Target} scheme which "obliges energy suppliers to promote reductions in carbon emissions for households. The companies are required to spend £1.5bn over the next three years to install energy efficiency measures in the homes of people on low incomes and the elderly."

For once I'm almost lost for words .... a genuine case of something for nothing!
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Addendum:
Actually there IS a teeny-weeny little catch in there - the rest of us will pay for it! I quote - "Ofgem, the energy regulator .............. said this week that around £38 is being added to each household's gas and electricity's (I assume they meant to include 'bills' here) to pay for the Cert scheme."

At least it's a start, and given that £1 in every £3 spent on heating homes is lost because of inadequate insulation, it will have quite an impact on household CO2 emissions, at least for the over 70's.

Well, there's a surprise!

"HIPs show shortcomings in home energy efficiency" from EDIE.

The average energy rating for properties assessed under HIPS ranks an 'E' on a scale from 'A' to 'G'. Now why would anybody expect any different?

Despite all of the various 'grants' and supposed funding available (Have you ever tried to obtain an insulation grant? It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack! 'Sorry sir, you are outside our designated area'; 'Sorry you don't qualify as you earn over £22K'; 'we only provide grants for the over 65's'; oh, sorry, you're an NPower customer, you might have qualified for a grant if you were with Scottish Power'), the majority of homeowners simply do not have the wherewithal, financially, to invest in cavity wall insulation and the like.

It's all well and good banging on about it ('insulation, insulation, insulation!') but when it means that the man in the street has to cough up from his own pocket, yes, even when it will save him money long term, if he doesn't have the readies then it simply won't get done.

It surely must be time for a simple, sensible scheme to be put in place to ensure that any and every property qualifies for insulation grants or at least a low cost loan scheme. It's not too much to ask, is it?

A Proactive Council That's Getting Things Right

Its not often that I find myself commending a local council initiative, but this one is really worth a mention. This from the Society Of Procurement Officers highlights a scheme introduced by the London borough of Richmond whereby the first 1,000 residents who install cavity wall or loft insulation will be given a £100 rebate on their council tax bill. Even when that particular pot is empty, anyone else will still receive £50 from British Gas.

A typical cost for installing cavity wall insulation in a three bedroomed semi is ~ £250 and for loft insulation ~£275. OK, the rebate's not earth shattering, but its a start, and, as they say, every little helps. And I commend the Richmond councilors for pushing this through.

What a shame that central government doesn't appear to be able to learn something from the initiatives driven by their more local brethren.
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And while central government prevaricates (see 'Coming clean on going green' below), the local councils forge ahead. Now more than 130 local councils have signed up to the Nottingham declaration - as reported in the Plymouth Herald.

I won't be the first...

All homes energy efficient within decade says Brown

'Based on consultations with banks and building societies, he said measures to lower a household's carbon footprint had the potential to create a market for a range of new "green" financial products'

Nice idea.

http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/idea.php?ideaId=6038