Macoun employees braved the foul weather and travelled across the Pennines to a breakfast meeting in Settle North Yorkshire.

The briefing was presented by Russell Smith of Parity Project who specialise in retrofitting energy home improvement solutions to ageing housing stock. They have also been developing “The Green Deal Conduit” which is a method where smaller business can tap into the bigger Green Deal funding and grants without using a Green Deal provider such as British Gas, Tesco or B & Q. The benefits of this closer working approach is that the customer can develop a better rapport with the supplier (plumber, builder etc) and thereby better add value to the work being done. It is feared by some that the Tesco, B & Q approach will be call centre drive and lack a large amount of customer care.

The meeting was also a good opportunity to tie up with other organisations around the country who are beginning to dip their toes in the Green Deal waters. In particular, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority were there to talk about their plans for their ageing housing stock and public buildings.

We were also pleased to meet Andy Hebblethwaite from Home Energy Advice. Andy is a member of the DECC home energy forum which advises the government on energy efficiency matters.

Still some work to do to launch the ship.

It was interesting to note that the Green Deal initiative is the only major domestic initiative the government is perusing at the moment. There are currently a number of obstacles to overcome; specifically the finance arrangement, who will be lending the money and how; the current lack of Green Deal Advisors (GDAs) in place and the number who are being (or waiting to be) trained at the present time and; the legal issue with who is ultimately the owner of the home improvements given the complexities around the consumer credit act.

The meeting in Settle also marked the eve of the launch of the new company designed to manage the Green Deal conduit now called Retrofitworks (www.retrofitworks.org.uk).

Retrofitworks allows building companies to register with them for a fee in order to receive mail shots of Green Deal work required in their area and skill set. The benefits for the customer are that all Green Deal work has to be carried out in line with PAS (Public Accessible Standard) 2030.

The PAS 2030 is the Specification for Installation Process, Process Management and Service Provision for the Green Deal activities such as :-

• Cavity Wall Insulation
• Double Glazing
• Heating Controls
• Underfloor Heating
• Heat Recovery Systems
• Mechanical Ventilation (non-domestic)
• Flue gas recovery devices
• Loft insulation
• Flat roof insulation
• Internal wall insulation
• External wall insulation
• Draught proofing
• Floor insulation
• Heating system insulation
• Lighting fittings (non-domestic)
• Lighting controls (non-domestic)
• Innovative hot water systems
• Water efficient taps and showers
• Ground and Air source heat pumps
• Solar Thermal
• Solar PV
• Biomass Boilers
• Micro CHP
• Doors and Conservatories

Macoun employee are already trained or are being trained in many of the technologies listed above, more on that later.