PR 36529 t                                                                             
28 November 2014

In answer to Ed Davey's recent announcement that an extra £100m will be made available for UK
homeowners to get cheap boilers and double-glazing,Peter Ferguson, MD of Infrarad Ltd, comments.

Pictured is Peter Ferguson, Managing Director of Infrarad Ltd

"I think that this is a pathetic gesture towards the "struggling householder" who may be complaining about rising energy bills. If you do the maths and look at the £8,000 spend then only 12,500 householders may benefit from this. It's not a lot of money. Thirty million people are in work and that works out as a £3.33 contribution per head, it's hardly big bucks!

"If the government are serious about reducing energy demand or encouraging the "greener" products then, surely, the fairer way to dish out this type of funding is to incentivise householders/landlords. This could be done by reducing the Council Tax/Business Rates by fitting PV Solar and actually generating more energy and driving the cost of electricity down.

"If the pre-election claim to close coal-fired power stations is a reality, then what are they going to be replaced with? Our nuclear power stations are reaching the end of their usefulness and that combined with the promise to close the coal-fired power stations is only going to increase our reliance on importing energy. Surely that cannot be the way forward?"

How much money is the bureaucracy of the "Green Deal" costing?

"It appears to be a top heavy "boys club" with little to show for the expense involved. This round of funding may generate 12,500 positive votes for the government, but it has not generated any power other than political power. Yes, it may be a shot in the arm for the gas boiler boys and the insulation companies but it does not cure the longer term issues. We need to generate more power and, as a country, we need to look at ways of reducing our energy consumption by encouraging better use of energy-saving devices and reward those householders/businesses who do so with a Council Tax/Business Rates reduction."

How do we go about doing this?

"We need to force the banks to create a GREEN LENDING FUND at lower interest rates, of around 2%, for energy-reducing and energy-creating appliances. The banks should administer it so that there is no big overhead controlling this fund.

"This borrowing could be encouraged by reducing Council Tax/Business Rates for those who install recommended energy- saving or energy-generating products by an attractive amount.

"We need to bite the bullet and invest in more PV/wind power stations. Just look at Germany!"

For more information, visitwww.infrarad-heating.comor call 01525 851122. 

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With compliments:
Alison Relf
Taylor Alden Ltd
Unit 2, Temple Place
247 The Broadway
London
SW19 1SD
Tel: 020 8543 3866
Email: alison@tayloralden.co.uk