Green Homes Grant Scheme
FENSA, along with the entire country, welcomed the Green Homes Grant Scheme announcement back in early July. A £2bn investment into making homes up and down the country more energy efficient can only be a good thing.
But whilst the initial headline was promising, the September start date that was provided put homeowners in limbo, not knowing if they would qualify for a grant. Unfortunately there is very little assistance for the vast majority of homeowners looking to install windows and doors to help with their energy efficiency.
So who qualifies? Well, the main scheme is open to owner/occupiers (both freehold and leasehold) and landlords who rent privately or through the social sector whilst the low income and vulnerable part of the scheme is open to owner-occupied households and part home owners.
Windows and doors are only seen as a ‘secondary measure’ as part of the scheme which means a grant will only apply if a homeowner first has a ‘primary measure installed, ie insulation or low carbon heating. When it comes to windows, only those homes with single glazing who are looking to install double or triple glazing will qualify, but only up to the amount provided for the ‘primary measure’. Complicated isn’t it.
Now that the details of the scheme have been released it does mean however that people can continue with their home improvements as they had previously planned. FENSA are helping on that front with their new lead generation website and you can now request a quote from a FENSA Approved Installer at the click of a button
The glazing industry hit the ground running as lockdown measures eased however this was not helped by the announcement of the Green Homes Grant Scheme. But now homeowners who have spent the last few months at home looking at improvements they could make, and with many families not taking a summer vacation, orders on upgrades to replace their windows and doors will continue to be buoyant.
It follows on the back of a trend for homeowners over the last few years to now see windows and doors as an important aesthetic element to the house in addition to the benefits of safety, security and energy efficiency. This is why it’s imperative to have the right tradesman carry out the work.
There are over 6,000 FENSA Approved Installers across England and Wales, making it the largest glazing community in the UK and issuing over 500,000 FENSA certificates a year. The FENSA certificate is imperative when it comes to buying or selling a home and it can only be issued by a FENSA Approved Installer.
The FENSA certificate means the work complies with building regulations, the windows and doors are energy efficient and the work has been registered with the local council, meaning you don’t have to pay for the council to come out and inspect it, at no small cost to yourself.
The new FENSA website puts homeowners in touch with expert FENSA Approved Installers who can provide expertise and advice on what would work best for each individual home, giving you peace of mind.