Energy Mortgages
I’ve been of the opinion for a long time now that ecological = economical in the long term. Unfortunately high short-term outlays mean that a lot of us can’t afford to tile our roof with energy cells and sit back watching our meters running backwards.
I’ve long been of the opinion that the government should encourage ecological improvements at home by helping with this initial outlay.
Now the Lib Dems here in the UK have come up with an idea that addresses just this point.
OK, it would be even better if they were willing to match a certain amount of that with a grant, since we’re spending money for the public good, but at least they’re willing to make a start.
The only problem is that the Lib Dems, UK’s third largest political party, haven’t been in power since 1915 (disclaimer: I am not a historian).
Still, Labour stole most of their manifesto in the 1996 elections (including, shock horror, student loans), so there’s still a chance the idea will see the light of day. I hope so, anyway.
April 16th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
A few years back (2002?) I believe it was still possible to get grants of up to half the cost of the solar panels, but few people took it up, and the scheme appears to have been abandoned. Solar panels and wind turbines are a good idea if you own a house and a garden, but for people that live in flats, there aren’t many practical places to place them. Where would you place yours?
April 16th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Fair point, the solar panels in my instance wouldn’t work, mainly due to me not owning my roof.
However, in my parents’ case… or for that matter, in a few years if I get to do that self-build I’d always planned…
April 16th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
It’s a great idea, provided (like student loans) interest rates on them are inflation-linked rather than traditional bank/building society provided mortgages. The income threshold would also have to be lower in order to ensure lower-income households could also take advantage.
November 13th, 2008 at 2:51 am
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