Green Deal Addendum

Senility is catching up on me! In my previous post on the Green Deal I meant to make mention of the up-front assessment fee and the likely interest rate. By the time that my fingers had started hitting the keyboard I completely forgotten that I was going to comment on these aspects (maybe I was dwelling too much on the gin and tonic with which I was going to reward myself).

Whatever, a post by Rod Janssen has now reminded me. Rod's post, or rather the Observer article he quotes, pretty much covers what I was going to say which is that both the factors outlined above are additional brakes on Green Deal uptake. For anyone with a slightly complicated proposal, or a marginal one, the assessment fee of anywhere between £99 and £175 could be a significant disincentive. And the quoted interest rates - seemingly in a range from 6.5% to 9% - are hardly enticing. If you've got enough equity in your propoerty it would probably be cheaper to extend your mortgage (at, perhaps, 5%). Why go down the Green Deal route, paying more and, as the Observer article points out, possibly having further hassle if and when you sell your property?

One final thought - why is everyone so quiet about ECO?

Circular Economy

I've just read a piece from Nick Warburton's blog about the circular economy. Nick's piece opens: "Those of you following developments in Davos, Switzerland last week will probably be aware of an incredibly timely and thought provoking presentation that underlines a growing issue with immense ramifications for the UK economy". Needless to say I'm afraid I haven't been following developments that closely and I'd even missed the fact that the Ellen MacArthur Foundation had launched a report on the subject at last year's Davos shindig.

The subject being - the circular economy.

In essence what's being discussed is a closed loop system - which philosophically has great attraction but will require some radical mind-set changes from an awful lot of people. In their second report the Foundation suggests that the circular economy relies on five founding principles:

Waste is food;
Diversity is strength;
Energy must come from renewable sources;
Prices must tell the truth;
Thinking in terms of systems is key.

So you can see why I suggest that we're in paradigm shifting territory here.

It's an easy read - but stimulating. I suggest you try it.

Will the Green Deal Fly?

The Tyndall Centre's VERD project has issued an interesting report to coincide with the official launch of the Green Deal. Essentially the report reiterates what may of us know already - energy efficiency is seldom the primary motivating factor in home refurbishment (when was cavity wall insulation ever sexy?). Specific events, such as the need for a boiler replacement, or major life-stage changes, such as building an extension, prove to be the trigger for associated energy efficiency improvements in many cases. George Chrissochoidis, a co-leader of the project, said "Decisions to renovate are rooted in the need to improve the quality of life at home, rather than any burning desire to be energy efficient".

This doesn't mean that home renovators won't take up Green Deal offers as part of their improvement package but it does rather fire a shot across the bows of Green Deal providers. They are either going to have to be seen as trusted contractors for multi-faceted projects that include Green Deal elements or they are going to have to dovetail (as subbies?) with renovation contractors. Reputation will be all.