The Green Deal will be launched later this year, maybe as early as October 2012. This is the mechanism that will be replacing the grants that have been available through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) Scheme for many years.

Customers will be able to choose between paying the full market price for energy efficiency measures, or can pay by taking out an interest-bearing loan that gets repaid through your electricity bill. The key part of the deal is that the predicted savings in energy over a specified period of time have to be greater than the cost of doing the work. Another interesting twist is that if you move home, the loan stays with the house and becomes the responsibility of the new owner.

How will it work ? Customers interested in saving money on energy bills will need to arrange for a Green Deal Assessment, where a qualified professional will survey your home and identify the options available to you from 24 different technologies, including not just cavity wall and loft insulation but draughtproofing, glazing and some renewables, amongst others. A report will be produced so that the customer can then arrange for some or all of the qualifying measures to be installed by a Green Deal Installer. A number of different financiers will be providing the loans, and the Green Deal Lender will arrange for the repayments to be added to the electricity bill for the home.

Customers can coordinate this themselves, or go to a one-stop-shop for help and advice. DEAC plans are underway for offering a local Green Deal service, using local installers, and local, ethical financiers. We feel that this will offer the best value for money for local customers.

If you are interested in finding out more, please contact DAEC on info@deac.co.uk.