Government Plans to Offer Cash for Eco Home Improvements

Households making effort to make green home improvements will soon be able to claim payments for generating low carbon electricity, the government has recently announced.

People with plans to install solar panels, wind turbines or similar measures will be eligible for the scheme, according to the latest announcement.

Minister of energy and climate change, Ed Miliband, said that from April 1st, property owners and communities will be able to claim this money even if the energy they create is purely for their own use.

If the communities or property owners then feed energy back into the grid, they will be eligible for additional payments.

The scheme will also apply to low carbon energy installations that have been commissioned since July 2008.

Measures such as solar panels will be eligible for up to £900 each year, on top of the £140 they will save on annual energy bills. Combined with measures such as energy efficient double glazing, which can keep more heat in the home, householders can create eco friendly properties that really pay for themselves over time.

Ed Miliband said: ‘The guarantee of getting an income on top of saving on energy bills will be an incentive to householders and communities wanting to make the move to low carbon living.’

Last year it was also announced by housing minister John Healey that homes in the UK will need to be zero carbon from 2016 onwards.