Cavity wall industry decimated by Green Deal delays

The number of homes installing cavity wall insulation is 97% down, since the start of the government’s Green Deal energy-efficiency scheme.
The Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency, monitors the issue of installations and guarantees, and its figures – first revealed in Building magazine, show that only 1,138 installations were completed in April, down from 49,650 in April 2012.

Under previous energy-efficiency schemes, cavity wall insulation was heavily subsidised or free, depending on household circumstances. The Green Deal transfers the burden of payment to the householder.

The government’s own impact assessment predicted in January 2012 that cavity wall insulations would collapse by 67%, – the industry warned that it would be far, far worse – but the reality has far outstripped this estimate. Government data shows that 1.4m cavity wall insulations are needed to meet its carbon targets.

Andrew Warren, director of the Association for the Conservation of Energy, said the crash showed a “desperate need for financial stimuli for the Green Deal”.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change is adamant that the Green Deal is a long term programme designed to deliver home improvement in Great Britain on an unprecedented scale.

There is a cashback scheme which offers £250 for cavity wall insulation, although this will not cover the total cost.