Government encourage Warm Front scheme participation as Winter approaches.

Warm Front scheme - claim the help!

The Government has called on pensioners and those on low incomes to make sure they claim for the help they're entitled to, to help them keep warm this Winter.

The Warm Front scheme provides grants to people in poorly heated or insulated homes. Grants can be awarded for boiler repairs, new central heating systems and insulation.

If you're eligible, you could apply for up to £3,500 towards the costs of work - up to £6,000 if your home doesn't have mains gas.

Over the next two years, over 90,000 people are expected to be helped by the Warm Front scheme. 2 million have already been helped since the scheme launched in 2000.

To enquire about qualifying, all you have to do is call the Warm Front team on 0800 316 6004. If you're eligible, they'll handle all the paperwork and arrange a survey of your property to work out what measures will be most effective. These are tailored to each individual property.

Insulation measures include loft insulation, draught proofing, cavity wall insulation and hot water tank insulation.

Heating system measures include repairs to existing heating systems, new gas or oil central heating systems, electric storage heaters, electric heaters for bathrooms, conversion of open fireplaces to modern glass fronted fires and timer controls for electric space and water heaters.

Over £110 million has been set aside for 2011 with another £100 million set aside for 2012/2013 for privately owned or rented households in England.

More information can be found on the Department of Energy & Climate Change website.

photo credit: brett holt

Chancellor's green measures announced in pre-budget report

A £400 scrappage scheme on old boilers and an average £900 a year to homeowners with solar panel and wind generation systems that plug their excess power back into the National Grid were just two 'green' acknowledgements in the Chancellors pre-budget speech earlier this week.

The boiler scrappage scheme will help some 125,000 homes replace inefficient boilers with new models. Boilers account for over 60% of all home heating emissions in the UK.

As we've already mentioned, Feed-in Tariffs seemed to get a mention with the Chancellor rewarding early adopters of green power with an average £900 a year for pumping their solar or wind generated electricity into the National Grid.

Electric cars also benefit with a 5 year exemption from company car taxes as well as a 100% first year capital allowance for electric vans, paving the way for a boost in the numbers of electric vehicles on our streets. Employees could save several thousand pounds a year in company car tax. Although some critics have pointed out that there is still a long way to go in making electric powered cars available and building the infrastructure to power them.

The Warm Front scheme will also be extended - it's already helped over 230,000 people insulate their homes as well as heat them more efficiently. Mr Darling is also counting on energy efficiency being added by the introduction of smart meters in every home (which will be completed by 2020).

There were other monies promised to investment in low carbon projects as well as £90m in the European Investment Bank's new 2020 fund. He also promised more action to reduce the impact of coal power plants and other major CO2 emitters.