PEOPLE in Oxford are being urged to apply for grants up to £10,000 to make their homes more energy efficient.

Under the new Green Homes Grant, the Government is providing vouchers worth up to £5,000 or £10,000 to help cover the cost of making energy efficiency and low-carbon heating improvements to homes in England.

The vouchers will cover up to two-thirds of the cost for homeowners and landlords up to £5,000.

Low-income households will be able to access £10,000 worth of vouchers to be used to cover the full cost of improvements.

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Home owners and landlords of private rented and social domestic housing will be able to apply for the vouchers.

The voucher must be redeemed, and improvements completed by March 31, 2021.

Who qualifies?

To qualify for a voucher, residents need to be installing at least one of the following:

• Insulation, including solid wall, cavity wall, underfloor, loft or roof insulation.

• Low carbon heating, such as air-source or ground-source heat pumps, or solar thermal systems, which provide renewable ways of heating your home.

If you have already installed one of the measures above, you can also use the vouchers to install ‘secondary’ measures such as draught proofing and double glazing.

The voucher cannot be used to help pay for works that were carried out prior to the voucher being issued.

More information on the Green Homes Grants, including how to apply can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-the-green-homes-grant-scheme

Check your eligibility

Homeowners and landlords can check their eligibility for the Green Home Grants using the Simple Energy Advice eligibility webpage. The checker is able to provide an idea if you qualify for the vouchers, as well as making suggestions about what improvements may be appropriate for your home.

Cosy Homes Oxfordshire

Cosy Homes Oxfordshire – in partnership with the Low Carbon Hub – have created an app that will help residents find out the best energy efficiency improvements for their homes.

Using the app, users can get an idea of the most suitable improvements for their property, costs for improvements, and local suppliers and installers.

Using your postcode and setting your budget, the app will use publicly available information about your property to create an improvement plan that works for your house and your budget.