Government launches third round of Green Deal Home Improvement Fund

Up to £70 million worth of funding will be made available through the third release of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) from midday Monday 16th March, the government has announced.
The scheme will open to new applications for the new release of funding, with up to £5,600 available to households in England and Wales to help with the cost of installing certain energy saving measures such as solid wall insulation, double glazing, boilers, cavity wall and floor insulation.

More than 25,000 households have already received a voucher for The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund since it launched in June 2014. For the third release of funding, money has been increased for the two measures offer.

Domestic energy customers will be able to receive:

· up to £3750 for installing solid wall insulation;

· and/or up to £1250 for installing two measures from an approved list;

· up to £100 refunded for their Green Deal Assessment;

· up to £500 more if applying within 12 months of buying a new home.

The £70 million for the third release will be available for applications for solid wall insulation and/or the two measures offer until all the funding is allocated.

Energy and Climate Change Minister, Amber Rudd, said: “This winter the government has helped people save money while keeping warm – taking an average of £50 off household bills and making it quicker and easier to switch supplier. But to cut bills every winter people need to use less energy.

“We’ve already improved over one million homes to make them more energy efficient and we want to help more. Thanks to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund thousands of families will enjoy lower bills and a warmer home for years to come.”

When the second release of funding was made available through the GDHIF in December 2014, £24 million was snapped up within 48 hours.

Martin Lewis, founder and editor of MoneySavingExpert.com, expects demand to be huge again and estimates the £70m “to last not much longer than a week”.

“I’d suggest anyone who has already had a Green Deal assessment to be ready to pounce to make sure they aren’t left out in the cold,” said Lewis.

“For those who haven’t but are interested, first do a quick online check which will tell you if it’s worth getting an assessment, if it is, then try and arrange one as soon as possible.”