Ah, the great British summer. In days of balmy sunshine, trees abundant with leaves and the smell of barbeque on the evening air, it’s easy to set aside the cares of winter, and preparing your home for the accompanying weather. In actual fact, the summer is the ideal time to apply for ECO4 Grants to improve your home. Read on, to find out why.
A Typical Winter
Now it’s time to picture your average UK winter: at least 6 months of dreary rain, not quite cold enough to be “fun” (i.e. crisp frosty mornings, snow days, and ice skating) and not dry enough to do anything useful outside either.
The Scots have a word for it, and it sums up the general feeling of these days: draik (see: a drachy day). Just saying it sounds wet and melancholy.
It’s during these times that a warm, cosy home is what brings us the most comfort and respite from these uncomfortable days. Coming in from a wet dog walk or trudge home from work, into a warm and welcoming home gives us hope when the wet days turn to weeks and months.
Unfortunately for many of us the unrelenting British monsoon season can also bring feelings of despair: the leaky roof which just-won’t-go-away, the damp patch which clearly gets bigger every day, the groan of wind blowing through cracks in the window frame, and creak of doors being swayed by the incoming draft.
It’s in these moments that we start to think more clearly and deeply about how to weather-proof our homes.
We dream about double-glazed windows which don’t fog up, about taking a shower in a warm bathroom, and not having to wear skiing thermals in order to sit and watch TV. And in these moments, we may well look into funding options – such as the ECO4 grants that are readily available.
These ECO4 grants are available to many homeowners and even tenants in rented accommodation and offer a means of covering the cost of various eco-home improvements, such as wall and loft insulation, replacement of doors and windows, and even boiler replacements.
With 45% of renters in the UK having to put up with damp living conditions, mould, and excessive cold, (48% of which experience this for more than a year) the grants and funding that are available through the ECO4 scheme offer a much-needed means of getting a warmer, healthier home, with a short turnaround.
There’s just one problem with this reactionary style of decision making: you want a warm, energy efficient home NOW, when the weather is terrible and you’re freezing under a mountain of duvets. You don’t want to have to wait for property surveys to be completed, proposals to be written, applications to be submitted and installations to begin.
You need to be prepared- and that’s why, in the warm, dry(er) summer months, you need to be thinking about applying for ECO4 grant funding.
Apply for ECO4 Grants Early
Think about it, it makes perfect sense to start the application process for ECO4 grants in the spring or summer – and because the application is so easy, you can still work on tidying up the garden, doing other house repairs, or just going on your summer holiday!
There’s lots of reasons why you should start your ECO4 application now rather than wait for the bad weather to come along.
Less Urgency
First and foremost, you can work at a more leisurely pace. Your central heating is switched off as the house is warm enough without it. You don’t have the urgency of an inefficient boiler or leaking roof needing immediate repairs to worry about.
Less Disruption
Next, when the work to install your ECO4 funded home improvements are underway, you’ll notice less disruption. It won’t matter if you have windows removed or no central heating for a day or two- again, as you’re warm enough as it is to cope without them.
More Relaxed
And on the note of missing windows, or indeed doors, or roof repairs – with less rain in the summer, it won’t matter if your home isn’t 100% weather-tight. The home improvement project can be completed at a less rushed pace, and you can relax a little more during these works.
Less Demand
Finally, there’s less demand for home improvement installations funded through ECO4 grants during the warmer months.
Most folk are concentrating on their garden, painting the walls, fixing the car…and everything else they had to put on hold while the UK took a 6-month shower.
So, if you’re one of the few people prepared enough to consider ECO4 funding while the weather is fair, you’re more likely to get a prompt application response, and timely installation.
Start Seeing the Benefits
Of course, just because you’re applying for your ECO4 grants early doesn’t mean that you have to wait for the winter in order to reap the benefits – for instance, if you replace your old boiler for one that is more efficient and uses less fuel to warm up your shower or bath water, you’ll immediately see a reduction in your energy bills.
Depending on your property type, (basement flat or cave dweller?) as well as living habits, or health condition you may be the kind of person who needs the central heating on all year round (i.e. you’re cold, all.the.time…).
The latest Citizens Advice survey found that private renters are spending 53% of their income on home heating and energy bills.
If you apply for ECO4 grants today, you could reduce the amount of time that your heating is switched on for or manage to turn it off entirely, because your home could be better insulated, keeping the warmth in, the drafts out, and your energy bills low.
So not only will your bank balance be happier, but your health will be too.
Apply Today
Whether you’re applying in the depths of winter or the heights of summer, the process for applying for ECO4 funding remains the same – as do the eligibility criteria.
You just need to get in touch with us to make a start.
We’ll then handle the home survey, formulate a suitable proposal that will meet your needs, complete the application – and carry out any of the required installation and upgrades.
So, like a priority pass in a theme park, it’s time for you to jump to the front of the queue and get your ECO4 grant funded home improvements underway. Get in contact now and you’ll be saving money in no time!
