Plumb Center has launched a new website that aims to help heating installers make the most of the Green Deal. The essence of the Green Deal is a financial mechanism that removes the need for householders to pay upfront for energy efficiency measures, such as heating and insulation. Instead it provides an arrangement for the cost of the measures to be repaid over time, matched by savings on energy bills.
Plumb Center believes that a broken boiler will be the most common trigger for homeowners to explore Green Deal improvements to their home. Therefore a Gas Safe installer is the best placed skilled person to carry out a Green Deal assessment, and to carry out the resulting installation work.
Plumb Center aims to provide the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective route for such installers to become Green Deal Advisors. In association with Sevenoaks Energy Academy, Plumb Center will train installers to be Green Deal Advisors in five days of coursework, if they are Gas Safe registered engineers or MCS accredited installers. A portfolio of assessments is also required for accreditation. Many installers will also need to become accredited Green Deal Installers, a process with which Plumb Center can also assist.
Plumb Center is currently working towards becoming a Green Deal Provider, so that Green Deal finance will be available from Plumb Center to fund work carried out by installers who have been accredited through plumb Center.
The new website, gogreendeal.co.uk has sections tailored to both installers and homeowners, who can use the site to request a Green Deal assessment for their property. It features a short animation that sets out in everyday terms how the Green Deal will work, and a wealth of information and guidance about topics including:
The site provides the latest news about the Green Deal, links to relevant bodies such as DECC and the Energy Saving Trust, and details of forthcoming events such as Ecobuild. It will be updated continually as relevant information, including further dates for Plumb Center’s Green Deal Advisor training course, as these become available.
Plumb Center’s Renewables Director Simon Allan said: “What makes this website different is that it’s designed for installers first and foremost. Plumb Center has talked with hundreds of installers at events around the country about the opportunities presented by the Green Deal. We’ve also developed and launched a training course specifically to enable installers to operate as Green Deal Advisors. In so doing we have acquired a great deal of knowledge about the practicalities of the Green Deal for installers, which is now freely available on this website.”
