Guide to PAS2030 and Eco/Greendeal

[smhstu]

]Hi there

To be able to do work under ECO or Green Deal your business need to be PAS 2030 certified. This is a made up accreditation by the energy companies so as to make sure the installer business is capable of doing there job and have a quality management system in place.
So to get PAS 2030 first of all you need a quality management system (QMS ). There are loads on the market with all different bells and whistles. All a QMS system is basically is a database to store all your job information and information on your business, like insurance renewal, calibration date, tools etc.
I use QMSA but there are loads on the market so have a look about as they can vary widely in price.
Then you need to get your certification. There are a few different body's that do this and they all. Charge different . I have found that STROMA are reasonable with there price. You will need two technologies, boilers and controls.
You will have to put all your info on your QMS then add a job, this can be any job you have done or I used the boiler at my house. Record details of guarantees, benchmark log book, gas safe notification, etc.
The certification body you choose will then look at the job on your QMS then you will be awarded your PAS 2030
Your business will then be added to the green deal installer list and you can install under the ECO and green deal.


The next step is to find a fund provider. Be very careful, there a a lot of dodgy people claiming to be providers but are not. Allways check they have a Green Deal Provider number and are on the list of providers, you can check this on the government website. If you don't use a bona Fide provider you will not get paid.
Once you have a provider then you can start to do work.
I am in the process of becoming a Provider and should have some funding in the next few months. If anyone wants me to contact them when I'm up and running PM me your business

I will help anyone in the process if they have any questions
Hope this helps.

 

[kris]

Hi there mate, I did look in to getting my pas 2030 to become a green deal installer but at the time I just felt that the way the government launched the scheme was terrible, ( last year ) ,,, have the made big changes .?

 

[Nostrum]

Hi there mate, I did look in to getting my pas 2030 to become a green deal installer but at the time I just felt that the way the government launched the scheme was terrible, ( last year ) ,,, have the made big changes .?

No.

I've just had an annual assessment and decided not to continue with green deal.

Unfortunately, it seems as though this is the case for 60% of last years installers. These are the reasons why:

ECO funding (free boilers) has been reduced considerably. The way the system works means that often only large old houses will qualify for near full funding. Most need to contribute towards the installation and just can't afford it. Some will though, so study your potential market.
you will only know how much money is available after having an EPC carried out at your expense. If the job falls through due to a lack of funding, you are out of pocket. I found this to be all too common and was losing money.

Green Deal finance is still not appealing to the majority. My experience of it was that by the time the provider stuck commission on top of your price, then add the interest of the finance over say 12 years, the total repayment was startlingly over priced.
the scheme needs to see a major change in order for it to work, 0% finance maybe? Can't see how it would work by doing this though, back to the drawing board.

Green Deal Home improvement fund is opening again. You can offer your customers £1250 cash back if they take out two measures on the list of eligible measures.
Condensing gas boilers are on this list, although the others are hard to pair with it, often the cost of the other measure outweighs the £1250 benefit, for example, underfloor insulation, cavity wall insulation etc.

So in short, it's not something that will appeal to the majority of your customers. This is why the big companies mop up , it's about good lead generation and finding the people who are interested.

If you are in an off gas area, this years changes may help because the money for ECO favours a change in fuel or upgrade. You'll still need to carry out an EPC prior to offering the customer a figure.

Hope that helps.

 

[smhstu]

You are right in what you say nostrum, but when you look at the green deal it does work, not for everyone but if you go with it the numbers do add up. ECO rates have been terrible for a while, have you thought about blending the ECO with greendeal?
These scemes are not without fault and are not for everyone, I think the amout of money there has been put into it it's not going away!
It could be worse, could go back to warm front scheme!

 

[Nostrum]

Hi smhstu,

The figures say otherwise, if you subtract mandatory GDA's and GDHIF/ ECO from the equation, the scheme has been very poor.

I've looked at blending ECO with Green deal, but then I could offer a better deal with a standalone finance package. I have been closely watching the Green Deal from the very outset back in 2011.

So far the only way it has worked is by giving things away, as opposed to being a finance mechanism for every household to gain access to help increase energy efficiency on a massive scale, which it was originally designed to be.

If it changes significantly I will re join, but unfortunately,as it is, I cannot justify the time and effort.

 

[kris]

Cheers for that Nostrum , theyve said for this last year or so that the goverment really needed to re-launch the green deal in a more organised , understandable and enticing way that is clear to both installers and householders alike, for example the scrappage scheme in my eyes was simple , great for installer and home owner , the green deal was just made too complicated on every level and nobody knew exactly what was being offered , greendeal provider , green deal assessor pas 2030 , MCS, energy efficient calculator,,, a simple £400 off was way better lol

 

[lame plumber]

the only easy to use scheme that seemed to work was boiler scrappage vouchers, all the other schemes are over complicated and paperwork nightmares, omho.

 

[Nostrum]

How many green deal jobs have you completed paperwork for Lame? :blush5:

You are right though, much of it is overly complicated for Green Deal. That's not the issues here though. Most small businesses won't accept or can't be bothered to have written policies for complaints, keeping a check on calibration etc and other stuff they should be doing.

The scheme tries to create a uniform means of operating for the businesses that join the scheme, to protect the customers and ensure the companies doing so are operating in accordance to consumer regulation and in a professional manner.

You can't expect to be handed out money like this without jumping through a few hoops, but if it's not for you, don't winge that it's inaccessible! It is, and it's perfectly manageable if you put some effort in. Probably about as much time as we spend on here for a week.

 

[hammers4spanner]

So for example if i do this pas2030 and come to you smhstu as your a provider how much work could i get ?

 

[smhstu]

Hammers, you find the work, I just fund it.
so for ECO you find the punters who are low income, ( tax credit below £15800, pension credit, child tax credit, etc) an Energy performance certificate (EPC) is used to calculate a fund value.
you do job and when completed you get paid, usually 30 days
if green deal it's a different process. There is a green deal assessment and from that a cost saving is worked out. If the golden rule is achieved (savings out way costs) and the customer accepts the quote and terms etc then 14 day cooling off. If all ok then fit job, sign off, paid 14 days later.

this is a very brief explanation just to give the jist of how it works