Household Energy Efficiency Grants - Valley Renewables Group

Household Energy Efficiency Grant

SUMMARY

Grant funding of up to £1000 can be applied for to support projects which support energy efficiency.

What can be funded:

The grant application should fit into one of the following themes and we have given some suggestions as to what could be funded.

Heating your home

Reducing Home Heat Loss

Generating Renewable Electricity

Who is eligible:

We welcome applications from permanent residents of the Carron Valley and District Area who are over 16 years of age. Each household in the region is eligible up to £1000 in any given funding cycle. Full eligibility criteria can be found in the Guidance Notes.

The Energy Efficiency Grant is still in the first round so only those who haven’t already received a grant from this fund can apply at this time.

How do I apply:

The application process is easy. Read the Guidance notes in full. Gather a quote/costing for works. Complete and submit the Household Grant Application Form above. If successful, funds are paid to applicants when your application is approved. Receipts will be required after you have completed your project.

The Grants Sub-Group, supported by the VRG Administrator, will assess each application anonymously. We aim to respond within 4-6 weeks of receipt of a completed application.

If you require any support with your application or would like to discuss a possible application please contact admin@valleyrenewables.co.uk

GUIDANCE

Grant applications should be made PRIOR to work being done or items purchased. Retrospective applications can only be approved in exceptional circumstances.

Household Energy Efficiency Grant/s can provide funding for household works strictly restricted to VRG’s charitable objectives and focused on object 4.1 Advancing environmental protection. To ensure the scheme can support more participation, particularly from those residents who have not benefitted previously, we are amending the criteria to allow payment to be made upon application, rather than completion.

The grant should fit into one of the following themes:-

Heating your home	Reducing Home Heat loss	Generating Renewable Electricity
Having an efficient heating system running on a low carbon fuel is one of the most important steps you can take to reduce your fuel bills and your carbon dioxide emissions. This might include replacing or purchasing one of the following items.	*If you want to reduce your carbon emissions and keep your energy bills low, installing insulation or draught-proofing will reduce heat loss*	*It’s possible to generate your own electricity or heat from renewable, or replenishable, sources of energy, such as the sun or wind*
Heat pumps	Cavity Wall insulation	Solar Panels
Boilers	Floor Insulation	Wind Turbines
Electric Heating	Loft Insulation	Hydroelectricity
Biomass including wood burning	Solid Wall Insulation
Solar	Draught proofing, including thermal curtains and blinds
Heating controls (thermostats)	Windows and doors
Thermal energy stores	Insulating tanks pipes and radiators

Please note that all stoves must be Defra approved.

We would prefer a project approach with one application covering all measures applied for, however, residents can apply for a number of grants until they have reached the maximum funding of £1000. We are piloting a “funding round” approach so the grant fund may close early if all funding has been used up in any given financial year.

Example of grant funding below:-

Resident would like to focus on reducing heat loss from their property. They have a few things that they consider would meet this aim and the total cost is just under £1000 so all could be funded from the grant. No more funding under this scheme would be available to this household during the initial funding cycle.

Purchase a HIVE system to control room temperatures. Cost £350
Purchase thermal linings for their curtains. Cost £250
Buy draught excluders for three doors. Cost £75
Secondary glaze one of their windows. Cost £300

Total funding application = £975

Note – This household could also apply for E Bike funding, Get the Valley Growing, New Venture, Bursary and Young Person’s grants if they have projects that meet the aims of those schemes.

Eligibility criteria. Applications must:

Be from a permanent resident living in the Carron Valley Community Council area
Be signed by someone 16 years of age or over
Deliver against VRG’s Objectives.

VRG Objects.

VRG’s objects can be found in full within the VRG Articles of Association. The Household Energy Efficiency grant focuses on Object 4.1. Advance environmental protection. Grant applications should support one or more of the following areas:

Tackle climate change;
Promote energy efficiency;

Households may find the free to use WWF Carbon Footprint Calculator a useful tool to use when considering a grant application to lower their carbon footprint.

The procedure for making a grant application is as follows:

Read these guidelines in full
Obtain a quote or price for work or items
Complete the application form and send it to the VRG Admin Officer with the quotes

The Administrator, in association with the Grants Sub-committee will review applications as and when they are submitted and distributed, with a response typically provided to the applicant within four to six weeks for individual and community grants. This timeline is for guidance since the VRG is run by unpaid volunteers who give their time voluntarily to the group.

In making grants the Administrator and Sub-Committee will be guided by how well the project will address the VRG Objectives. The Board reserves the right to decline to support an application which they consider does not address these or is ineligible. Applicants refused a grant will be entitled to receive an explanation for the decision and the Board’s decision will be final. The guidelines specify the upper limit of any award to be made. Should you not be happy with any part of the process please inform us as soon as possible in writing to Secretary.

For approved grants, VRG will pay the applicant once the grant has been approved and estimates/quotes submitted. The applicant must submit all receipts after their project is completed. This is to allow VRG to meet the requirements of the charity regulator. Failure to submit receipts would mean that this household would not be able to apply for any further grant funding.

VRG Grant Conditions

Any award made will be subject to the following conditions:

Except in exceptional circumstances no work or purchase for which a grant is sought should take place until notification of an award has been made in writing. Once grant is approved by VRG payment will be sent to applicant.
All receipts must be submitted to VRG upon completion of the project.
Awards will only be made to permanent residents operating within the Carron Valley Community Council area.
Valley Renewables shall be entitled to reclaim any funds that it considers to have been used inappropriately, or where spend is not evidenced.

VRG Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme

This is an application form for an Energy Efficiency Grant of up to £1000. Please read the guidelines and eligibility criteria carefully before completing this form.

Name of Applicant and Contact Details:
Name*
First Last
Address*
Street Address Address Line 2 Village / Town / City Postcode
Email
Declaration*
- Acknowledgement of Declaration
By submitting this form you are agreeing to the following:- I certify the information contained in this application is correct. I confirm that if I receive a grant from VRG I will only use the funds for the purpose detailed in the application. I agree to my personal details being used by VRG in accordance with their published Privacy Statement. I certify this is a bona fide grant application and agree that the Directors award decision is final.
Please tell us about your project.
1. Please tell us what you are applying for funding for. What is the purpose of your application and what do you want to do?*
2. The Energy Efficiency Scheme’s primary purpose is to tackle climate change by promoting energy efficiency and carbon reduction. Please state how this grant would help you to do this and, where possible, provide evidence to support this.*
3. When do you want to start and how long will it take?*
Impact
4. How many individuals are expected to directly benefit from this grant?*
5. How many households are expected to directly benefit from this grant?*
6. What will be the outcome of the grant when completed (i.e. what do you hope to achieve)?*
Costs
Please provide supporting quotations where applicable.
File
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7. What is the total cost of your proposal? £*
(please provide a breakdown if there are a number of items included in this cost)
8. How much money are you applying for? £*
9. Would VRG Funding cover the full cost of the proposal:*
- Full cost (Move to Question 11)
- Partial (Move to Question 10)
10. Please state where additional funding for this proposal will this come from.
e.g. personal finance, other grant. Please include further details about other grants applied for and the total amount secured
Additional Information
11. Please provide any other relevant information.
Monitoring & Evaluation
All successful applications will be emailed a monitoring and evaluation form within 6 months of their grant receipt. The form is designed to ensure VRG’s Grant schemes continue to provide value and impact for the community. Your assistance in filling out the evaluation form when received would be greatly appreciated, however completion of evaluation is not a condition of award.
Case Study
- If you do not wish your grant to be used as a case study please tick here
If your application is successful VRG may be in touch to produce a short case study. Case studies are an important way for us to inspire other residents and monitor the impact of our grants.
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