In November 2007 the UK government announced their new Green Home Service which will provide a one-stop shop service for greener homes. Up until this point the Energy Saving Trust has run advice centres in some areas of the country, but the Green Home Service is to make this a much more proactive rather than reactive provision. Additional funding will be made available to the Energy Saving Trust in order to achieve this aim.
The Green Home Service was officially launched in April 2008 with a roll-out on a nationwide basis through until 2011. By that time an extensive network should be available allowing everyone to have access to the services provided. Essentially the Green Home Service will offer a home health check in terms of energy efficiency. Advice will then be given covering areas such as energy saving, water saving, recycling and waste reduction, and green travel options. It is hoped that by offering this proactive service, more people will take on board energy efficiency measures thus reducing their carbon footprints.
In addition to the advice on offer, the Green Home Service will also connect people to companies providing discounted or free energy saving products such as insulation, and provide details of available grants for energy efficiency measures and renewable energy options. By offering all of this advice and information from one service, it is envisaged that more people will make greater steps in increasing their energy efficiency. A chargeable premium service is also expected to be rolled out, although no further details on this were made available with the initial announcement. You can contact the Energy Saving Trust advice line on 0800 512012.
If you would like further information on the Green Home Service, visit the DEFRA website.
Source: www.defra.gov.uk 2008
