Anyone aged 70 or above could be entitled to Cavity Wall Insulation or Loft

Insulation Grants

that will cover the entire cost of any insulation work. 100%

insulation grants

are also available to households where any person living in the house receives one of the following benefits, tax credits or allowances:

• Attendance Allowance
• Income Support
• Council Tax Benefit (single person's discount and student exemption do not qualify)
• Disability Living Allowance
• Disabled Persons Tax Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Child Tax Credit (gross combined household income must be under £16,040, excluding all benefits)
• Working Tax Credit (gross combined household income must be under £16,040, excluding all benefits)
• Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance
• War Disablement Pension **
• Pension Credit (state pension only does not qualify)

Must also be in receipt of Constant Attendance Allowance
** Must include Mobility Supplement or Constant Attendance Allowance

Sounds too good to be true? The Government and utility companies consider these households to be a priority, which is why insulation is offered free of charge. This type of funding is also known as 'Priority Group'. You may be required to provide evidence of your age or benefits received in order to claim this fully funded grant. N.B. Pensioners aged under 70, will not receive 100% insulation grants unless they also receive a qualifying benefit.

If you do not qualify for a 100% insulation grant, you will still qualify for an insulation grant to cover up to 90% of the installation cost. All homeowners and private tenants are eligible. This is known as 'Able To Pay Funding'. Householders will have to pay a small contribution towards the cost. This is typically recovered within one to two years from the savings made on heating bills. This applies to both Cavity Wall Insulation Grants and Loft Insulation Grants.

The Governments Carbon Emissions Reduction Target is all about reducing CO 2 emissions, one of the main causes of climate change. CERT came into effect in April 2008, and it obliges energy companies to take steps to ensure that the amount of CO 2 emissions from homes is reduced.

As the name suggests, there's a set target for the amount by which CO 2 emissions should be reduced. CERT will be in effect for three years, with the target of making an annual net saving of 4.2 million tonnes of CO 2 by the end of the programme.

CERT is actually the third phase of a programme that has been running since 2002 to reduce CO 2 emissions. The previous phase was known as the Energy Efficiency Commitment. This new phase doubles the targets of the previous three-year phase, which started in April 2005.

Why do we need CERT?
The UK has committed itself to a number of targets to reduce harmful emissions:

• cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 22 per cent from 1990 levels by 2008-2012, as part of the Kyoto Protocol
• cutting emissions of CO 2 by 34 per cent and 80 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020 and 2050 respectively, as part of Government policy

CERT has been designed to make a significant contribution to achieving these targets.

How Does CERT work?
Electricity and gas suppliers will be obliged to promote things that:

• improve energy efficiency, for example, loft and wall insulation
• increase the amount of energy generated from renewable technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels and ground source heat pumps