Merton Council is calling on residents to tackle their energy bills and sign up for a free energy efficiency assessment of their home worth £140 by the end of September.

 As part of the Government’s Green Deal scheme, Merton Council is offering the first 60 residents who get in touch a free Green Deal assessment. The offer applies to residents who privately rent or own their home and they have until 30 September 2013 to sign up. They will then know what improvements they could make to their home to achieve greater energy efficiency and reduced fuel bills. Examples of energy saving measures are better insulation, boiler upgrades and double glazing. The first 60 registrations will be eligible for the free assessment on a first come, first served basis.

The Green Deal is a way of financing energy saving improvements without any up-front costs as repayments are made through savings on the energy bills. The assessments identify the most cost effective measures to improve the energy efficiency of a home or business and there is no obligation to have any work carried out. Once an assessment is complete, the resident will be given a Green Deal Advice Report which includes information about what improvements can be made, an estimate of how much the homeowner could save and what financial options are available.

Merton Council’s cabinet member for environmental sustainability and regeneration, Councillor Andrew Judge said: “In Merton, we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and we want to reach out to households in the borough to help them to improve their household energy efficiency and reduce their bills. I would encourage people to take advantage of the free assessments on offer and see what energy improvements they could make to their home.”

Residents interested in receiving a free Green Deal Assessment should contact the council on 020 8545 4141 or email future.merton@merton.gov.uk.

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Notes to Editors

• The Green Deal was launched by the Department of Energy and Climate Change on 28 January 2013.
• Residents can choose to use their own finance/savings or loan rather than just Green Deal finance, as GD finance includes an interest rate of approx. 7%
• The free Green Deal Assessment offer is open only to Merton residents who register their interest by 30 September.  After the first 60 assessments are carried out, residents can still sign up for an assessment costing between £99-£140.
• Signing up for an impartial assessment with a Green Deal Assessor will produce a report showing what you can do in your home. It will show the installation costs and how much money you will save from your fuel bills. If you choose to have energy savings measures installed, a Green Deal Provider of your choice will arrange everything for you.
• A ‘golden rule’ set by government caps your repayments so that your combined energy bill doesn’t rise with repayments. Once you’ve paid off the installation costs, you benefit from the reduced energy bill.
• Any householder can sign up for a Green Deal, regardless of whether they’re a homeowner, tenant, leaseholder or renting from a private landlord. Householders with a landlord must gain the landlord’s approval to have works to their home.
• This offer does not include additional meterage or topping up lofts where existing insulation is over 60mm deep.