You might have heard of the UK Government’s ECO scheme, but it doesn’t strictly follow that you will know what it is… yet. Here, ECO refers to the Energy Company Obligation, a programme aimed at helping lower-income and more vulnerable households to enact energy efficiency measures.
However, those households will rely on professional installers putting those measures in place for them. You could become one of those installers – especially if you make sure your company keeps at hand all of the following things essential to its success in the ECO space.
Relationships with various energy suppliers
Under the terms of ECO, medium and large gas and electricity suppliers in England, Scotland and Wales are obliged to contribute funding for energy-saving installations like loft insulation, wall insulation and boiler replacements.
Therefore, you could benefit from forging partnerships with such suppliers. Which? lists various energy suppliers required to provide ECO support – with British Gas, EDF Energy, Npower, SSE and Scottish Power, plus various smaller companies like Octopus Energy and Utilita, on the list.
The right energy efficiency measures
Now, what eco-friendly installations can you undertake under ECO and, therefore, secure ECO funding for? This list, too, is lengthy – even just when it comes to insulation.
The insulation measures that can be delivered as per ECO’s terms include flat roof insulation, room in roof insulation, loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, underfloor insulation and internal and external wall insulation. Boiler replacements, too, are viable ECO options.
The right materials
Of course, the “right” materials for any job will depend on precisely what that job is – especially as building work can often be carefully tailored to suit the client’s needs and preferences.
However, certain materials – like wood, glass, aluminium, steel and bricks – tend to be used particularly often for construction projects, so Realty Times implies.
You should also look into how you could carry out installation work in an environmentally-conscious fashion – for example, by using recycled materials. Here’s a little more on the “eco-friendly” point…
An eco-friendly ethos
Naturally, one major objective as an ECO installer is to help the UK to shrink its collective carbon footprint. Those households most inclined to make use of the ECO scheme could also be likely to place environmental concerns at the heart of much of what they do in their day-to-day lives.
Therefore, to court these households, you should not only uphold and strengthen your green credentials but also actively promote them. To this end, you should position your brand as being “green” with a wide range of its services, not just those for which ECO funding would be available.
ECO funding
You could find yourself struggling to obtain this even if you tick plenty of the right boxes as an ECO installer. However, you could always consider approaching our company to receive the support and guidance necessary. We work with multiple energy companies and, as a result, can offer many different appealing ECO funding options.
You could ring us on 0333 920 5888 to learn more about how we can help you to secure ECO grants.