11. Repairing and Improving Occupied Private Housing
11.3 Insulation and draughtproofing grants
Two complementary grant schemes are available to help people living in privately-owned properties to meet the costs of insulating and draughtproofing their homes, resulting in a big saving in heating costs to the household concerned.
Warm Deal Grants
The Warm Deal is a Scottish Executive Programme to improve home energy efficiency. A grant of up to £500 is available if the homeowner or tenant, or their spouse, is in receipt of one of a range of statutory benefits. The list of qualifying benefits includes income support and housing benefit. Eaga Ltd who administer the scheme on behalf of the Scottish Executive will be able to provide further details. A lower grant of £125 is available to applicants aged 60 and over who do not receive any of the specified benefits. These grant levels are reduced to £160 and £40 respectively if the grant applicant chooses to do the work himself or herself rather than get a professional installer to do it.
An applicant qualifying for the full grant can receive up to £500 of energy efficiency work including cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, draughtproofing, hot and cold tank and pipe insulation, energy advice and up to four energy efficient lightbulbs.
Applicants should contact Eaga Ltd in the first instance for more information and, if eligible, for details on how to apply for the grant. Eaga will then supply a list of approved installation companies operating in your area which can undertake the works.
For more information and free leaflet contact Eaga on 0800 072 0150 or www.eaga.co.uk.
Grants for installation of central heating
The Scottish Executive's five-year plan for installing central heating in the homes of all pensioners and social housing tenants in Scotland is now under way. Any householder over the age of 60 is eligible for a grant for installation of central heating if their house does not have an existing system. Local authority and housing association stock without central heating also qualify for the grants. Besides central heating, the package includes insulation for loft, walls and cold water tank and pipes, draughtproofing, and energy advice.
Newly appointed as the managing agent for the private sector part of this programme is Eaga Partnership Ltd, who also manage the Warm Deal. To qualify for the grant, applicants from the private sector must be aged 60 or over and must have lived in their home for at least a year. The home must have no central heating system, or a system that is broken beyond repair. Anybody who meets the basic criteria can apply for the grant without being subject to eligibility criteria, and previous applications for Warm Deal or other grants are disregarded.
Tenants of local authority or housing association properties should approach their landlord about applying on their behalf.
Private sector applicants can apply for the grant simply by telephoning Eaga's Customer Service Advisers free on the Central Heating Programme Freephone line on 0800 316 1653. Staff will then quickly assess eligibility for the programme and arrange for a Home Energy Adviser to visit and discuss details.
Grants from the power companies
Scottish Power, Scottish Hydro Electric, and Scottish Gas all offer grants to their customers, regardless of income, for home insulation and towards the costs of upgrading heating systems, to make these more energy efficient. They also run various discount schemes promoting the use of energy efficient appliances and lighting. These initiatives are funded under the Energy Efficiency Commitment (previously known as the Energy Efficiency Standards of Performance), and are designed to help consumers use energy more efficiently. The status of these grants changes regularly, so for up-to-date information contact the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre on 0800 512 012 for details.
