1. What is the Warm Wales Powys Energy Savings Scheme and who funds it?
We are proud to be able to offer the only Powys County Council approved Scheme, available to qualifying Powys residents through Warm Wales. The aim of the scheme is to tackle the ever-increasing problem of fuel poverty by funding & installing energy efficient improvement measures in some of the worst performing properties in Powys. We use a ‘whole house, fabric first approach’ to retrofitting improvement measures in turn transforming your property to a B86 or above on the EPC register in the most cost-efficient way.
The scheme is funded almost in its entirety by the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), which is a government energy efficiency scheme administered by Ofgem. ECO4 will be a four-year scheme running from April 1st, 2022, to March 31st, 2026. Powys County Council have also made funding available to contribute toward energy efficiency elements which are not funded by ECO4 in the form of a contributory grant for battery storage, energy saving lights and interest free loans.
Applications made directly through installers acting independently via ECO4 don’t benefit from a free system upgrade/solar PV battery or flexible underwriting criteria offered under this Scheme via Route 2 of ECO4-FLEX
2. How do I qualify, which improvements are available and is there any cost to me?
A. There are 4 routes you can personally potentially qualify under. However, first, funding is only available for properties with an E, F or G EPC rating. D rated properties may also be considered on a case-by-case basis (but not available via Route 2 and/or for Private Rented properties). Also funding and measures available is limited.
Should you receive any income related benefits or suffer from certain pre-existing health conditions which your doctor can confirm, you will automatically qualify without needing to provide income evidence. These include;
1. ECO 4 (HCCRO) – Qualifying Income related Benefits as listed below only
· Income based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)
· Income Related Employment and Support Allowance (IRESA)
· Income Support (IS)
· Pension Credit Guarantee/Savings Credit (PCGC/PCSC)
· Working Tax/Child Tax/Universal Credit (WTC/CTC/UC)
· Housing Benefit (HB)
· Child Benefit (CB) below gross income threshold below
Type of claimant Qualifying young persons (1) (2) (3) (4 or more)
Single claimant (1) £19,900 (2) £24,800 (3) £29,600 (4) £34,500
Member of a couple (1) £27,500 (2) £32,300 (3) £37,200 (4) £42,000 ______________________________________________________________________________________
2. ECO4 FLEX – ROUTE 3 – Qualifying Health Conditions
· a cardiovascular condition
· a respiratory disease
· limited mobility
· Immunosuppression
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3. ECO4 FLEX – ROUTE 1:
Total Household Gross Income under £31,000 p.a.
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4. ECO4 FLEX-ROUTE 2: The Warm Wales Powys Energy Savings Scheme (WWPESS)
Is a 2-part qualifying route offering a niche funding only available with this scheme. Savings don’t affect your qualification, but income received from them is accountable for qualification purposes. As part of the qualifying process, you must either have;
· a hard-to-treat property (as defined under NICE guidelines) OR
· meet the generous net income threshold set after allowable household expenses (mortgage/rent/council tax/ALL fuel bills) have first been deducted from your net income which is determined on your household composition.
· You will also need to satisfy one of the vulnerability criteria below in Part 2;
PART 1 – Hard to treat property (Qualifying definitions – any 1 to qualify)
· Off Gas (Property has no mains Gas connection or cannot be connected to the gas grid)
· Solid Wall Property (Non-Cavity construction that would require Internal/External wall insulation)
· Room in Roof (As defined by RdSAP with no loft space)
· Property in a state of disrepair (as identified on the retrofit assessment condition report)
· Property is listed
PART 1 – *NET INCOME THRESHOLD – (If not qualifying via hard to treat property).
· 1 Adult £23,670 (£1.973 pm)
· 1 Adult + 1 Child £26,826 (£2,236 pm)
· 1 Adult + 2 Children £30,508 (£2,543 pm)
· 1 Adult + 3 Children £34,716 (£2,893 pm)
· 1 Adult + 4 Children £39,450 (£3,288 pm)
· 2 Adults £32,612 (£2,718 pm)
· 2 Adults + 1 Child £35,768 (£2,981 pm)
· 2 Adults + 2 Children £39,450 (£3,288 pm)
· 2 Adults + 3 Children £43,658 (£3,639 pm)
· 2 Adults + 4 Children £48,392 (£4,033 pm)
· Each additional Adult £18,936 (£1,578 pm)
*These income thresholds are reviewed annually with the cost of inflation. The next review is January 2025.
PART 2 – VULNERABILITY CRITERIA
· being 65 or over
· child 5 or under
· pregnant
· suffer from any medical condition that means you are more vulnerable to the cold which your doctor will confirm or are in receipt of support on health grounds such as (but not limited to); Attendance Allowance (AA), Contribution related Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Pension, Carers Allowance
· receive free school meals or Council Tax reduction due to low income
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The measures available under the scheme are;
· Loft Insulation
· Room in the Roof Insulation
· Flat Roof Insulation
· Cavity Wall Insulation
· Solid Wall (Internal or External) Insulation
· Underfloor Insulation
· Air Source Heat Pump & refurbished/new Central Heating System
· Hybrid Gas Combi Boiler/Air Source Heat Pump System upgrade (Mains Gas properties only)
· New Gas Boiler (non-condensing boilers only)
· Smart Heating Controls (TTZCs)
· Solar PV & Solar Battery
· Energy Saving Lights
ALL projects are offered without ANY initial outlay from you the customer. Funding is dependent on your initial Retrofit Assessment. This will determine if your project is fully funded and/or if you can receive a free Solar Battery and PV system upgrade.
· All ‘F’ & ‘G’ rated properties projects are FULLY FUNDED and can offer a free Solar PV battery and hybrid inverter (system) upgrade.
· All Low ‘E’ rated properties (E46 or below) are FULLY FUNDED but may need to pay a contribution towards the total cost of the battery or can decline the battery installation.
· High ‘E’ rated properties (E47-54) may need to contribute towards the project install cost of approved measures and will need to contribute towards the subsidised cost of the Solar Battery & system upgrade.
· All Low ‘D’ rated properties (D61 or below) will need to pay a contribution towards the project install cost of approved measures and the subsidised cost of the Solar Battery & system upgrade.
· All High ‘D’ rated properties (D62-68) have very limited funding available and will need a large customer contribution towards both the project install cost of approved measures and the subsidised costs of the Solar Battery & system upgrade.
Your Scheme Coordinator will advise you of the cost which is bespoke to each project.
Should you be over the income threshold and not qualify, you may be offered the opportunity to pay for your battery & system upgrade via an Interest Free loan through Robert Owen Community Banking Fund. This covers the full cost of the Battery and/or any contribution towards your project cost over a term of between 6 months & 5 years.
The monthly repayments for this loan can be offset against your income to bring you under the qualifying threshold, enabling qualification for the Scheme and free installation of all other approved measures.
The ethos of the Scheme is that all monthly repayments are met by fuel savings achieved through energy efficiency improvements made, resulting in net zero costs to the customer.
3. So I personally qualify, what happens next and what is the process to install?
These are the stages of your application and what to expect;
· The first stage is for the Scheme Coordinator to complete and formalise your application either over the phone or by email. The coordinator will be able to ask you all the relevant pertinent questions and provisionally confirm that you qualify and what likely measures are available to you.
PLEASE ALLOW 14 DAYS FOR US TO CONTACT YOU FROM YOUR INITIAL SUBMITTED ONLINE ENQUIRY.
· Confirmation of your provisional qualification will be emailed to you and a list of documentary evidence requirements will be sent for you to return along with confirmation you have read and accepted the
terms and conditions of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). No formal acceptance can be issued without receipt of this evidence.
· A retrofit assessment (funding survey) is booked once you have formalised your application. This survey can take between 1-3 hours and determines how much funding is available and ensures the property condition is suitable to install all approved measures.
· The Scheme Coordinator will receive the retrofit assessment from the surveyor and ‘model’ your job based on the results of the survey. Providing all evidence has been received and confirmed, Powys County Council will issue a declaration certificate and a provisional offer of funding is made to you from the Scheme Coordinator outlining which measures can be installed (subject to installer technical survey). You will need to reply and accept this offer and return any outstanding evidential documentation still required to proceed to the install stage.
PLEASE ALLOW AT LEAST 14 DAYS FOR US TO ISSUE YOUR FUNDING OFFER FROM THE DATE OF YOUR INITIAL SURVEY.
Should you subsequently cancel your application AFTER accepting our funding offer, a cancellation charge of £395 will become payable to help cover abortive costs. Should a planning application be required for your project, the application is made in full at this stage with the associated WWPESS planning service fee becoming payable (see Q10).
· Your job is then passed to the installer who will carry out further final funding and documentation checks. This will need to be returned usually before any technical surveys are arranged.
· On confirmation measures can be installed, the installer will confirm and book an install date and provide either a verbal or written Schedule of Works for your project. Any changes to the original provisional offer will be confirmed before install with you. We are happy to provide written details of the measures/systems to be installed including any design calculations and alterations (such as radiator changes) that are required to your property on request.
4. Can I choose what measures and/or manufacturer I have installed?
ALL energy improvement measures approved for funding MUST be installed as part of the project. No part projects will be undertaken. Which measures are installed is determined by the savings outweighing the total cost of installing each improvement measure over the measures’ lifetime. You are NOT able to ‘pick & choose’ which measures or the manufacturer you want. The only possible exception being Internal/External Wall Insulation. Measures may be conditional depending on any planning constraints placed on your property due to it being in a conservation area or listed.
Also, certain measures only qualify and are dependent on another measure being installed. An example being that Solar PV (and Battery) can only be installed on qualifying electrically heated properties that have an Air Source Heat Pump or High Heat Retention Heaters (to replace existing electric heaters only) installed.
Your Scheme Coordinator will clarify and advise what is required bespoke to each project.
5. Can I choose who does my installation measures?
Simply put, NO. To install under the Warm Wales Powys Energy Savings Scheme all contractors must have undertaken the relevant Government accredited qualifications relating to each measure and pass stringent accreditation checks and hold a contract with the relevant energy provider to have access to ECO funding.
Our panel of installers are fully vetted and pre-approved by our scheme having completed previous installations on this and other schemes in Powys to an extremely high standard.
6. What happens if I move or sell the house after having works completed?
There is no tie-in or repayment should you move or sell your property ANY time after works have been completed. In fact, providing your new property qualifies, you can apply to improve your new home if your new property meets the qualifying criteria.
7. Do I receive a Contract and what Warranty or Guarantees do I have for the workmanship?
As all the improvement works are usually at no cost to you, the contract of works is between the installer and the funder so you will not receive a customer contract. However, this does not diminish in any way the quality/workmanship of your job. All measures come with a minimum 2-year full workmanship warranty which covers all project measures, upgrades and includes an insurance backed guarantee (IBG), in case the installer should go out of business. Also, each measure has its own manufacturer guarantee. Insulation carries a 10-25 year
guarantee, an Air Source heat pump, 2-12 years and Solar PV has typically a 5-10 year warranty for the Inverter and Battery and 25 years for the Solar PV panels.
8. How do Air Source Heat Pumps work. Are they more efficient than other forms of heating?
An Air Source Heat Pump extracts heat from the outside air in the same way that a fridge extracts heat from its inside. It can extract heat from the air even when the temperature is as low as -22° C, as it utilises sophisticated refrigerant in the unit that boils at around -25° C, to start producing its renewable latent energy. This makes the new breed of Heat Pumps highly efficient due to the advances in refrigerant compared to its older counterparts.
Unlike gas and oil boilers, heat pumps deliver heat at lower temperatures (35-55° C) over much longer periods. The flow temperature required is determined by the insulation qualities of your property. The less energy efficient the property is, the higher the flow temperature needs to be to effectively heat it.
All properties are different, and each system will have its own bespoke design to ensure maximum effectiveness and efficiency. All rooms will be heated fully with a wet central heating system. To compensate for the lower flow temperature of the new heating system, we ensure that radiators & pipework (no microbore) are suitable and large enough (replaced where necessary) to emit sufficient heat to each room.
Heat pumps need electricity to run (as all boilers do also), but the heat they extract from the air is constantly being renewed naturally, making it between 300-500% efficient compared with an oil/gas boiler which is only 50-93% efficient! This means that for every KW of energy you spend you get 3-5KW back!
Typical savings are 10-25% compared to an Oil Boiler, 25-50% compared to an LPG or Solid Fuel Boiler and over 50% for Electric heating! Of course, should Smart Controls, Solar PV and Smart Battery Storage be introduced as part of your install project, the savings are as much as 75% on your current energy costs and will ALWAYS be more efficient than ANY form of other heating method currently used, including mains Gas!
9. I currently use my Range cooker or my Open Fire to heat my room/water/heating, can I keep this?
The ethos of the project is to make your house as energy efficient as possible. An open fire is one of the most least efficient ways of heating a room/house, as most of the heat goes through the chimney and can cause unrestricted and uncontrolled draughts and airflow. It also greatly increases the heat demand in the room/house meaning an Air Source heat pump and radiator/s for the room would be drastically oversized or even become unviable. As we are investing in your energy efficiency it would be worth considering closing the chimney/fire or investing in a replacement closed log burner. The technical survey will determine what action (if any) is required.
Also, a condition of the scheme is that 100% of your property’s heat AND water demand is satisfied by the new heating system. Sharing heating elements to satisfy the heating and/or water demand of the property is also incompatible, potentially dangerous, against install regulations and will result in Heat Pump failure and/or damage. Should your existing Range Cooker or Log Burner/Open Fire do this it will need to be disconnected from the main heating and/or hot water system.
10. Is Planning Permission & Building Regulations required for my project?
The WWPESS scheme does not take ANY responsibility or is able to grant planning permission on your property. Although we will carry out our own Scheme due diligence on your behalf, it is YOUR responsibility to satisfy yourself that planning conditions are met using the Welsh Government guidelines below. In most instances no measures will need any sort of planning permission for the type and size of measures we will be installing as part of your project as it is covered under permitted development rights. There are exceptions of course and on the proviso;
· permitted development rights have not been removed for your property as a condition of any previous planning granted; or
· if you are subject to an ‘Article 4’ direction which are most common in conservation areas.
· if you live in a listed building, however, you will need listed building consent for any significant works whether internal or external, particularly if the heritage and/or any significant features will be potentially affected by the measure/s installed.
Providing you are satisfied that ALL proposed measures to be installed are not in breach of your permitted development rights (see below) and are prepared to take full responsibility should any subsequent enforcement action result from your install, we can proceed with your planned install measures. Our scheme installers however, reserve the right to disagree with you should it be obvious that a breach of permitted development
will occur, and a full planning application will need to be submitted and approved BEFORE works can commence.
Below are the planning guidelines/conditions for your install measures to be classed as permitted development;
Air Source Heat pump planning guidelines/conditions to meet permitted development rights below;
· no more than one air source heat pump can be installed on (or within the curtilage of) your property
· the volume of the air source heat pump’s outdoor compressor unit (including any housing) must not exceed one cubic metre
· no part of the air source heat pump can be installed within three metres of the boundary of your property
· if in the case of the installation of an air source heat pump, a stand-alone wind turbine is installed within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse
· the air source heat pump cannot be installed on a pitched roof
· if installed on a flat roof, the air source heat pump must not be sited within one metre of the external edge of that roof
· the air source heat pump cannot be installed on a wall or roof which fronts a highway.
Solar PV Panels guidelines/conditions to meet the permitted development rights below;
Roof and wall-mounted solar panels
· Solar PV permitted development rights apply to houses. If you live in a flat and are considering fitting solar panels you are advised to contact your Local Planning Authority (LPA) for guidance.
· They should be sited, so far as is practicable, tight to the roof, to minimise the effect on the appearance of the building and amenity of the area. They should not be installed above the ridgeline and should project no more than 200mm from the roof or wall surface.
· When no longer needed for microgeneration they should be removed as soon as possible.
· If your property is a listed building installation it will require planning permission and is likely to require an application for listed building consent.
· If your property is in a conservation area, or in a World Heritage Site planning consent is required when panels are to be fitted on the principal or side elevation roof or walls and they are visible from the highway. If panels are to be fitted to a building in your garden or grounds they should not be visible from the highway.
Flat roof solar panels
· panels cannot be sited within 1 metre of the external edge of the roof; or
· panels cannot protrude more than 1 metre above the plane of the roof.
Standalone solar panels
· the panel should be sited, so far as is practicable, to minimise the effect on the amenity of the area
· only one standalone solar panel array is permitted
· no part of the installation must exceed 4 metres in height
· if the panel is within 5 metres of the boundary of the property, it cannot be more than 2 metres in height the panel shall not be within 5 metres of the highway
· no dimension of the panel should be greater than 3 metres
· the panel surface shall not be more than 9 square metres
· when no longer needed for microgeneration they should be removed as soon as possible.
Measures such as the install of an Air Source Heat Pump, pressurised water cylinder, Solar PV, Internal, External or Cavity Wall insulation are covered for Building Regulations by the relevant installer’s qualifications & accreditations for each measure. On completion, each relevant measure is notified by the installer to building regulations under the Competent Persons Scheme (CPS).
10a. Who’s responsible for my Planning Permission, any cost implications and likely delay?
As this is your property, you, the house owner are responsible for any planning requirements including the completion and costs (£230 and any associated professional fees circa £400-£1,200) of the planning application and associated documentation requirements.
We understand how time consuming, difficult, confusing and costly this can be for you and can cause significant delays to your project. In recognition of this, the WWPESS provides a bespoke subsidised planning service which you can choose. The cost of this service depends on the reason for planning as below;
· Air Source Heat Pump planning permission – £495
· Conservation area planning permission – £695
· Listed Building consent & planning permission – £895
Payment is due for planning fees on acceptance of your funding offer to progress your application to the install stage. Planning applications generally take around 10 weeks to be applied for and processed. The local authority has a customer charter to decline/approve all validated applications within 8 weeks.
11. How long does the project take to install and is there much disruption?
This is dependent on the extent and nature of works involved in each project. For new heating systems and Solar PV, this is typically completed in 2-3 days and will almost certainly involve the replacement of some/all pipework and radiators. Any new pipework will be in copper, and wall mounted. This can remain visible or covered with trunking with any new visible pipework or cabling kept to a minimum where possible.
Any invasive works required to the walls/ceilings/floors will be repaired and filled and made good. If you don’t currently have a water cylinder in the property, we will need to make room for a plant room to house the Air Source Cylinder & Ancillaries plus the Solar PV inverter & battery (if not put in the loft). The size required is around 1.5m x 1m. Should this be an issue) it may be possible to house the cylinder in a garage/outhouse or specially made shed outside (subject to funding.
Should your install require Internal Wall insulation or Room in the Roof Insulation, this can be quite disruptive as internally, all external walls will need insulating and reskimming. This can take anywhere from 2-10 days, depending on the size of your property and add an additional 50-100mm onto the wall thickness. All electrics will be made good, however, you will be responsible for redecorating and potentially reinstating the skirting boards and window sills to the affected walls/windows. This will be agreed with the installer at technical survey stage.
12. How does this Scheme affect my property?
As the property owner and/or energy user, this fantastic funding opportunity can be worth up to £80,000 and usually offered fully funded. The project improvements to your property will in turn add significant value and transformational energy efficiency (typical projects raise the SAP rating to a B86 or above) of your property, drastically reduce maintenance costs and save you or your tenant up to 75% on your fuel running costs (dependent on your current fuel type and age of system). It will also help reduce climate change, offering a clean, sophisticated renewable energy solution, effectively eliminating your property’s carbon footprint
13. Do I need Internet and a Smart Meter and do I need to change my Electricity Provider/Tariff?
To have a Solar Battery installed under the Scheme, you will need an internet connection and Wi-Fi. Also, a Smart Meter will give you the ability to access all the energy saving options available to your new system.
There are many tariffs available with the various energy companies that can offer a fixed price rate of return for your excess energy generated (SEG) or a tariff which offers lower electricity prices for Heat Pump usage. There is also a tariff which allows you to maximise your energy savings potential called a ‘time of use’ tariff (such as Octopus Agile). This allows you to buy and sell electricity wholesale at the most opportune times. Your Battery will store electricity from the grid when the cost per kw is at its cheapest and sell when energy is not required at peak times when the price is high. Don’t worry, the smart hybrid inverter & battery links up with your smart meter to monitor electricity price costs every 30 minutes to automatically determine when to ‘buy & sell’ your precious energy. You will need a smart meter & internet access for all these tariffs.
We recommend you speak to your chosen energy provider for advice on which tariff best suits your needs.
14. Will I own the equipment? Who is responsible for servicing/maintaining the equipment??
Under ALL circumstances you will own any equipment installed under the scheme from day 1 and any savings or benefits from the measures installed (such as Solar PV) are yours to fully enjoy and benefit from. You retain full control of the equipment and are responsible for normal servicing and maintenance costs outside of the installer & equipment warranty at your cost.
15. I’m a landlord and rent out a property, can I benefit from this scheme?
Absolutely! As the property owner, you can utilise the scheme (subject to tenant and property qualification) for all eligible properties. Your tenant I’m sure, will appreciate and benefit from the fuel savings and increase in energy efficiency and effectiveness of living in a warmer home, resulting from installation of energy efficiency improvements.