ECO Confusion – Who and what?

ECO Confusion – Who and what?

10:04 AM, 28th January 2021, About 4 years ago 4

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I had a company carry out checks on all my properties (Birmingham & Devon) in Summer 2020 to determine what grants I could apply for.

Advice was given that I could apply for some ECO3 funding. All the properties house benefit/low income tenants.

Some properties have enough roof insulation, but due to the nature of the buildings cannot have cavity wall insulation as there are no cavities to fill. The idea of external wall insulation was discussed and the company put in the request. The last message I had back was that fitting it was on hold till the weather picks up as a consistent temperature is needed on the outside of the walls for external insulation to be fitted correctly. (I don’t know the details of the possible fitters)

IF this external insulation gets done, can I still apply for a Green Homes Grant? As this work is one of the primary measures, can I then apply for some secondary measures under the GHG or do ALL measures (primary and any secondary) have to be completed under the GHG in totality?

If that is the case, would it be best to halt all plans now under ECO3 and go through the faff of starting afresh and apply for all properties to be assessed under the GHG? I am finding this whole grant thing totally confusing. All I need is a clear plan of what I need to do! Help!

Reluctant Landlord


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Paul Shears

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19:11 PM, 28th January 2021, About 4 years ago

I think that the government, so-called, grant system is utterly flawed at the outset and not by accident.
You have to install something in category 1 and then use any surplus in category 2 stuff.
I gave up within about a minute glancing at the list of options.
If you already have loft insulation and, if I recall correctly, double glazing, then there is virtually nothing that you can do to get past the category one requirement.
If you have a property that can benefit from the most basic of stuff in category 1 (Cavity wall insulation, loft insulation & new windows - possibly a new boiler), then there will be virtually nothing left over in your grant budget to do anything in category 2.
I think that he last time that I looked, the total budget per grant was only about £5K and you can't do very much with that even on a tiny house.
It seems to me that the only people who are really benefiting from this nonsense are the grant assessors.
The one that I tried to use made no secret of the fact that they had automated the whole thing with an algorithm so that most people who approached them paid up for the assessment before they ever spoke to a human being.
The whole thing is an utter absurdity funded by yet more recycled tax money to little or no productive end.

Mick Roberts

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11:24 AM, 29th January 2021, About 4 years ago

I'll comment to see if anyone has answers.
I too find it confusing.
I had 45 free Vaillant boilers fitted in 2013/14, so can understand English Language grants. But lost on this.
And some of us who's tenants can't move may have to do the EPC C thing in 2028 with 5k+ external insulation.

Ararat

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11:34 AM, 29th January 2021, About 4 years ago

i found it a nightmare, as an ex-gas installer i went on the ECO training courses - yes, just because you install boilers etc all the time, you have to go on courses to qualify to install under the grant scheme.
the instructor told us that it was uneconomic for small outfits to join the scheme, as it took as long to do the paperwork, as it did to do the work, i.e. a day and a half. the only firms that could realistically do it would have a dedicated team in an office doing the claims etc while installer does the work.
so i didnt join in the end, it wasnt worth it.
then i had a customer that qualified for ECO, but as i wasnt ECO registered I couldnt do it. So called in an ECO registered company, who surveyed and quoted. They put so much of the work as "extras" that wouldn't be covered by the scheme, that it worked out almost as expensive as i would have done without the grant. Also they were supplying the cheapest boiler. So they couldn't afford it and still have old inefficient boiler.

Mick Roberts

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11:39 AM, 29th January 2021, About 4 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Adrian Atkins at 29/01/2021 - 11:34
Let's hope the Govt finally get the message then, Boris wanting to please the Euro with low emissions which is gonna' result in lot of homeless him insisting we do it retrospectively on tenants houses that's been there years. On top of all the other crap we've had thrown at us.

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