Home improvements are always important for a number of reasons. Perhaps you’ll want to retain property value, ensure your house is looking its best throughout the year, or even find a way to reduce your ever-expensive energy bills.
Whatever the case for you making changes to the home, one of the major factors for you to consider, is how you’ll finance the project.
Some improvements, such as adding loft lagging or cavity wall insulation won’t break the bank. Payback can be in just a couple of years because of the money saved on wasted heat, so it makes sense to finance the work yourself.
However, there are other areas of the home that could be improved too if you had a bigger balance.
So let’s take a look at how you can finance double glazing.
Double glazing is one of those things you probably take for granted. The majority of British homes now have double glazed windows throughout their property, helping to lock more heat inside rather than see it escaping through the windows.
Double glazing windows have two panes of glass rather than the traditional one. There’s also a spacer between the two, filled with a motionless gas such as Argon and Xenon, to stop heat passing through.
If you don’t have double glazing already then you’re probably spending a lot more on heating bills than you should be. As long as your home isn’t located in a Conservation Area or is a listed building, you can save hundreds of pounds every year on those expensive energy bills.
However, double glazing isn’t exactly cheap. If you do find new windows advertised for a knock-off price then be very wary because the likelihood is their efficiency won’t last and you could be paying out for more sooner than you’d like.
How to finance double glazing
We would always recommend for homeowners, if they could, to finance double glazing themselves. This means it’s all paid for in one go and you can instantly start making savings on your heating bills.
This isn’t always possible, with windows starting from £250 apiece. For this reason, you may find yourself looking at some schemes available to help finance the cost of your double glazing.
Double glazing finance:
Depending on the company you choose for double glazing, there may well be a finance scheme set-up to help customers pay for the installation. This will be linked entirely to the said company, and means you can start enjoying a more efficient household right away.
You will have to make monthly payments to the double glazing company, but may well benefit from cheaper interest rates than if you visited the bank to request a loan.
You’ll set out a contract with the company, which will last for as long as agreed. Typically you could expect payments to be spread out between 12 months and five years.
Green Deal finance:
The Green Deal is just part of the Government’s agenda to improve energy efficiency throughout the UK and help homeowners reduce their energy bills all year round. As part of the scheme, low-interest loans are issued to help cover the cost of efficiency upgrades, including double glazing.
Loans are worth up to £10,000 so as well as double glazing; you could even improve another area of your home such as the wall cavities or loft lagging.
The Green Deal’s Golden Rule also states that homeowners won’t pay back more than they save with the home improvements. This means you’re not out of pocket and will instead be able to save every month.