Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
AUGUST 2020 | 3
News
A SEPTEMBER
TO REMEMBER?
What £5,000 home insulation vouchers will mean
for tradespeople, and how savvy installers can
make the most of the new scheme next month
Rishi Sunak is due to set
out a £2bn grant scheme in
England for projects such as
insulation as part of a wider £3bn
plan to cut carbon emissions.
The Treasury said that under the
Green Homes Grant, the Government
will pay at least two-thirds
of the cost of home improvements
that save energy.
The scheme will launch in
September, with online applications
for recommended energy
efficiency measures, along with
details of accredited local suppliers.
Once one of these suppliers
has provided a quote and the
work is approved, the voucher is
issued.
Even before the full details of
what would be included and the
finer details were announced
Ben Dyer, CEO and co-Founder
of Powered Now - a back-office
solution for tradespeople - was
already preparing installers
and tradespeople on what this
scheme will mean for small businesses,
and how they can start to
prepare.
Pro Installer contacted Ben for
further comment on what these
means for fenestration businesses,
and in particular, installers…
Ben, has there been any more
information yet on what may or
may not be included under this
scheme?
The scheme covers two broad
areas. These are passive improvements
like cavity wall, roof
and under-floor insulation and
renewable heat sources from
a ground source heat pump or
solar energy.
Do we know how the aforementioned
‘accredited local
suppliers’ will be selected and
therefore have the chance
to take advantage of this
scheme?
Accredited local suppliers must
be Trustmark or MCS registered.
Trustmark covers pretty much
the entire field trade industry
while MCS certifies low carbon
products and installations.
However, this is likely to create
a feeding frenzy for businesses
that are already registered. It is
undoubtedly true that there are
many tens of thousands of quality
businesses that aren’t registered
with either scheme, so this may
be an issue.
How can businesses start to
prepare themselves and their
teams for the scheme should
the work that they do qualify
to benefit from it?
There’s a fair amount involved
so businesses that do work in the
relevant fields and aren’t MCS or
Trustmark registered should start
the process of registering as soon
as they possibly can.
Is this an opportunity for new
installation businesses to start
up or change the way they
work to take advantage of the
new scheme?
It’s unlikely that a start up
could get going and register for
one of these schemes in the time
available, particularly as there’s
likely to be a queue for assessment.
However with a lot of
work potentially on the horizon
it could be a good opportunity
for smaller companies to team up
and work with each other.
What advice do you have for
disheartened businesses that
have had projects cancelled,
and suspect it may be because
homeowners are waiting for
the scheme to start?
Anyone who isn’t MCS or
Trustmark registered and focuses
on the areas that will be subsidised
should either get in on the
schemes immediately, or probably
try to focus on work that falls
outside the scheme for a while.
Aside from the Green Homes
Grant, how can installation
businesses and tradespeople
maximise opportunity and reap
rewards post-lockdown and
longer term?
While there is a lot of gloom
and doom, recession also creates
huge opportunity, especially for
smaller, more agile companies.
You can’t go for more than two
minutes without hearing about
someone downsizing to cut cost,
this is also happening at pace in
the installation industry. Suddenly
the larger businesses are
losing some of their advantage
of scale, this is only a good thing
for smaller companies who can
adapt and out manoeuvre their
larger competitors.
Do you have a final message
for our installers and readers,
or any general advice given recent
events in the industry?
Really, our best advice to all
trade businesses is to do great
work and don’t try to compete on
price too much, which undermines
the ability to do the work
well. This breeds loyal customers
who will recommend you to their
friends, and that’s always the best
source of work.
www.powerednow.com
Ben Dyer of Powered Now
advises installes, and
all companies, how to
make the most of every
opportunity on page 42