| By :
Martin Hofschroer
A new environmental scheme could lead to an increased demand for green energy courses. Government plans for green loans that will enable householders to fund energy efficiency measures such as insulation and renewable technology were revealed recently. The Pay As You Save (PAYS) scheme, which ties the financing to property rather than people, forms a key part of the government's Household Energy Management (HEMS) strategy, Warm Homes, Greener Homes. Legislation will need to be introduced before PAYS can be implemented, however pilot schemes are already being tested in Birmingham, Sussex, Surrey, Sutton and Stroud. The government announced that it expects loans from the financial institutions to be available from 2012. Attaching the cost of eco-upgrades to the home rather than the homeowner is a government acknowledgement that, with people moving home on average every 12 years, that is not enough time for bill reductions to cover the upfront costs of eco-upgrading their homes. The PAYS way means householders would only be responsible for the repayments while they are benefiting from the measures. Ed Miliband, energy and climate secretary, said: "This shows we can meet the national interest of tackling climate change and reducing our dependence on foreign energy at the same time as we help people save money. "The Warm Homes, Greener Homes Strategy will remove the deterrent of upfront costs and reduce the hassle of the move to greener living." The Warm Homes, Greener Homes Strategy aims to insulate six million homes by the end of 2011, insulate all practical lofts and cavity walls by 2015 and to have offered seven million eco upgrades by 2020, with all homes to have smart metres. At least one in 10 new homes in Britain built since April 2008 do not meet legal requirements for energy efficiency, which were enshrined in the Energy Performance Certificate. Until September 2010 grants of up to £2,500 are still available for householders who want to generate their own heat under Phase I of the government's Low Carbon Buildings Programmer (LCBP). Solar thermal hot water, ground source and air source heat pumps, and wood-fuelled heating biomass products are covered by the LCBP. The renewable heat incentive (RHI), is currently being consulted on by the UK government, which it plans to have in place from April 2011. Grants for electricity-generating technologies are no longer available under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, however, the new electricity feed-in-tariff provides cashback for homeowners in England, Scotland and Wales.
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