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Boiler and renewable manufacturer Vokera is supporting the call for the Government’s Green deal to be extended to new build housing.
According to Housing Minister Grant Shapps, talking to the Zero Carbon Hub Annual Conference, house builders could be given a Green Deal loan when developing new homes to zero carbon standards.
Vokèra commercial and renewables sales manager Robert Lockhart says: “The extension of the Green Deal to include new homes has the potential to give the UK a much needed boost towards meeting carbon reduction targets. In our opinion, consistency of policy for both new build and retrofit applications would certainly be of benefit to the industry.
“From a practical point of view, it also makes sense to install renewables during the house building phase. This can actually result in a lower installation cost than retrofitting, as the house can be designed to incorporate renewables, for example, fitting an inset solar collector into the roof will reduce the number of roof tiles required. In addition, equipment such as scaffolding will already be in place, saving time and money.”
However, he adds that further clarification on funding in needed, as the Green Deal loans for existing homes will be paid back through savings on fuel bills, which isn’t appropriate for developers.
“In addition, it’s important that the funds for house builders are allocated on top of those already set aside for the retrofit market,” he says.
