Hockerton note about Green Deal

I have had this newsletter from the Hockerton Housing Project, with some important advice about the Green Deal:

Some of you may have read about the Green Deal, the Coalition Government's proposal to remove the upfront cost barrier to making homes more energy efficient. This is due to be introduced in late 2012, but details are starting to emerge.
   Property-owners (both domestic and commercial) will be able to pay the costs of measures against savings on their energy bill, and when they sell up, the charge will stay with the property so you only have to pay for what you benefit from. It is also hoped that this mechanism will result in uptake of energy efficiency measures in the rental sector, where there is the highest proportion of dangerously cold homes. If not, we could see the introduction of minimum standards in that sector.
   This will mean the end of grants for loft and cavity wall insulation, although support will continue for fuel poor households and there will also be some form of subsidy for solid wall insulation.


What if you want to act now? Here are our recommendations:


- If you have uninsulated cavity walls or lofts, seek out deals from energy suppliers or potentially your local authority. These offers may not be around in future.
- If you are considering solid wall insulation, there will be some form of subsidy from late 2012 but the application process is as yet unknown. There may be an annual limit on applications so if you see an opportunity to register your interest through an energy company, local authority or other potential Green Deal provider, do so.
- The Government will shortly announce its plans for the Renewable Heat Incentive that will be introduced in June 2011to support low carbon heating systems such as heat pumps and biomass boilers. Payment of the incentive may be dependent on the installation of energy efficiency measures - so you may want to wait for the details of the Green Deal to help manage the upfront costs of these.

-If you are thinking of starting a project from scratch you may find it helpful to look at Hockerton Housing Project Fact Sheets. click here
See more about the Green Deal from the DECC website 

Trip to Hockerton

22 Nov '10: DNC writes: I was very lucky, queuing in the coffee bar, and one of the students told me he was about to get on the bus to visit Hockerton houses. On finding there was a space on the bus, I made an immediate decision to join them, for the rest of the day.
   This must have been the first set of houses built that would meet the Passivhaus standard (although I don't think they have had them PHPP certificated because of the date of construction, mid 90s, and because they rely on Thermal Mass).
  We were shown round by Simon Tilley, and it was nice that we started with the allotments, the reservoir (they are off the water grid) and the wind turbines, the reed bed before we actually looked at the houses.    
   This demonstrated the holistic nature of the whole scheme, it is not about just the house design, it is also about the whole community and the order of living. He has a very professional presentation (in the Learning Centre nearby) and we also enjoyed seeing the interior of one of the houses.
  Really. They do not have heating! They get by with sunspace, thermal mass and heat reclamation of internal gains. Power needs are met by the combination of PV and wind power.
  The lake in front of the houses is recreational, although it does provide carp for the occasional treat. There is another small lake behind them, to the north, as a reservoir for their fresh water.