Green Deal Home Improvement Fund extended

The green Deal Home Improvement Fund has been extended.   The expiry date of vouchers from the first round of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) have been extended until the 31^st March, allowing more time for millions of pounds worth of installations to be carried out.   The one-off extension applies to GDHIF vouchers that have not yet been redeemed and are due to expire before 31 March – affecting around 3,900 voucher holders – this includes vouchers that have already expired. For the first release of GDHIF, which was open to applications from 9 June to 24 July, vouchers worth up to a maximum of £7,600 were on offer.   Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey said: “The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund has been going like hotcakes – winter can be a difficult time to get installations done so by giving more time to voucher holders they can join over one million homes already benefitting from a warmer, cheaper winter thanks to our energy efficiency schemes.”   Energy and Climate Change Minister Amber Rudd said: “We know the best way to lower bills – permanently – is to make homes warmer and greener.   “We’ve helped one million homes install measures like insulation and boilers so it makes sense to extend Green Deal Home Improvement Fund vouchers for even more families to reap the benefits.”   The extension will apply automatically to eligible voucher holders - a new voucher will not be issued. To claim, eligible householders should carry out the work and submit their voucher for redemption to the GDHIF scheme administrator by 31 March 2015 – vouchers that have been extended will not be accepted after this time.   Vouchers from the second release of GDHIF, which opened to applications on 10 December 2014, will not be affected and remain valid for six months as per the expiry date on the voucher.   GDHIF voucher holders whose vouchers were due to expire before 31 March will receive an email to advise they are eligible for an extension, however they do not need to wait for this email to be sent, the extension is effective immediately.   Green Deal installers, help your customers GDHIF registered installers and providers can help their customers by completing the installation and handing the required documents over to the customer in time for the customer to submit their claim by the 31 March deadline.  

Renewable measures, such as solar thermal and heat pumps, are covered by the Green Deal, click here to view our range of renewable training courses.