The Government’s flagship energy-efficiency retrofit programme, the Green Deal, is doomed to fail unless it fully engages with the UK’s 135,000 heating installers according to the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC).

In its response to Parliament’s Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, HHIC cite one reason for the failure of the Green Deal to take-off in the manner Ministers promised, being due to the lack of engagement with the small installer companies spread right across the country.

HHIC makes the stark comparison with the successful 2010 Boiler Scrappage scheme that was used by an estimated 50,000 small firms, and saw 120,000 boilers replaced in three months. The Green Deal has so far failed to capture much interest with only 1500 firms supporting the scheme.

Commenting on its submission to Parliament, HHIC’s Director Roger Webb said:
“The industry so wanted Green Deal to be a great success but the reality is, it has failed. We believe that the lack of engagement with the small installer firms and their 135,000 workforce is a major factor for this, and we strongly urge DECC to re-examine the delivery model for Green Deal. We also need a less onerous quality scheme that takes into account the competences and certifications required of heating installers.”

“The numbers don’t lie. A few hundred live Green Deals when 10,000 were promised; just 2 per cent of firms have so far installed Green Deal heating measures and only 8500 boilers have been fitted using Green Deal finance or cashback schemes.”

“We stand ready to help DECC make Green Deal a success but they need to listen to the industry and use small installer firms to get the job done.”

There are still an estimated 4.3 million very inefficient boilers in UK homes, which are not only costly to run but emit large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.