The Green Deal



The Coalition Government is going to help businesses be included in the forthcoming Green Deal. Businesses will be able to apply for funding to help improve the energy efficiency of their current building. After an assessment has been carried out outlining which technologies will be the most effective a business owner can apply for funding to have the installation made. The funding that will be available will be of a high value than is offered to home owners, although exact details have yet to be finalized.

The businesses building will be effectively responsible for the costs of all the improvements and these costs will be repaid through the energy bill related to the property. There will be no up front costs for the business to incur at the outset.

The golden rule of the Green Deal also applies here it states that:

The expected financial savings must be equal to or greater than the costs attached to the energy bill

There are already exsiting schemes that some business might already be signed up to and the Green Deal will have to be worked into these obligations. Because of the layered complexity that is involved with the business sector there will be differences from the domestic market although the fundamental principals will remain the same.

Currently there are schemes, such as the Climate Change Agreements and the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme, which some businesses will be aware of. The government is currently looking at how these will all be aligned to make clear choices available to the business community.

Businesses will have the same measures available to them as domestic customers but some will not adhere to the Golden Rule of the Green Deal due to the size of some business premises. For example if a business is in a large warehouse it may not be cost effective to fit Solar panels to the building due to the high initial costs. It might however be cost effective to fit lighting controls and low energy lights which will give a much faster return on investment and fit into the Green Deals Golden Rule.

The Green Deal includes insulation improvements such as: loft insulation, solid wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, draught insulation and double glazing windows.

micro generation will also feature in the Green Deal and will include funding for; Solar panels, wind turbines and heat pumps such as ground source heat pumps and air source heat pumps. The cost of micro generation can vary and will only be funded by the Green Deal if it ad-hears to the “Golden Rule”.

http://www.greendealinitiative.co.uk/about-the-green-deal/businesses/