Member Article

Launch of The North East Network of Installers

Energy Friend stirred up a keen interest at the Big Eco Show this April

The region’s largest dedicated Eco Show took place at the Centre of Life in Newcastle on the 18th April and we were very excited to be exhibiting at this prestigious event.

We were set up alongside our partner companies Green Deal Products and Tadea, together forming the North East #1 One-Stop Shop in offering the complete Green Deal Package.

The Green Deal received a lot of interest at the show – With the use of our Savings Map we had set up on an iPad, attendees could pop in their postcodes and instantly see all the Green Deal Surveys we have carried out near their homes and how much potential savings customers have already been recommended.

Launched The North East Network of Green Deal Installers

MD, Colin Robinson, delivered a fantastic seminar introducing the North East Network of Green Deal Installers, which was received with a great deal of interest from many SMEs involved in installing energy products, from insulation specialists, solar installers, to heating engineers. The seminar received a lot of great feedback on the day and many saw the network ’as a no brainer!’ as it was clear to see the need and benefits of having such a network in place to ensure the Green Deal process works effectively and smoothly for all stakeholder involved.

What is the North East Network of Green Deal Installers?

In a nutshell, the North East Network of Green Deal Installers is the last piece of the puzzle in taking the full Green Deal package to the customer.

To date, we have carried out approximately 100 Green Deal Assessments and recommended near to 400 energy efficiency recommendations in North East homes, from insulation, to double glazing, to renewable energy. We have in place a Green Deal Provider to fund the recommended installations. The only piece of the puzzle now missing is approved Green Deal Installers to actually go out and install these recommendations. We already have significant Green Deal work available, just need to installers to quote and carry them out.

If you are an energy installer and are wanting to take advantage of all this work already available, let us show you where you stand in the grand scheme of things;

Once a customer has received their Green Deal Advice Report and want to get their energy efficiency recommendations installed, what do they do next?

• Get in touch with installers, then attempt to get funding from a Green Deal Provider. However this will not work. Why? As the Installers may not be registered with a Green Deal Provider, thus finance cannot be obtained.
• Get in touch with installers with provider backing. Again, this route will not work as the customers can only have a contract with one Green Deal Provider.
• However, ultimately what they are most likely to do is ..nothing!

Why? Because nowhere on the Government literature instructs customers to contact installers directly, rather their only hope is to be subcontracted by a Green Deal Provider, who provides the finance. This is because through the Green Deal, the customer’s contract lays directly with the Green Deal Provider, as opposed to the installer.

As an installer, being subcontracted by a Green Deal Provider then results in further problems; i.e they could lose control over their customers or even worse, they could possibly lose them to their competitors.

This is where the North East Network of Green Deal Installers comes in!

So how will the process work and how can Green Deal Installers make the most out of their customers?

1. Customer comes to Energy Friend for a Green Deal Assessment then asks us to project manage their installations
2. We then dip into our network of approved Green Deal Installers and provide customers with quotes for the recommendations they want installed
3. We then negotiate the finance from our partner Green Deal Provider
4. The installer then carries out the work for the customer and then receives payment from our partner Green Deal Provider

Benefits to the installer:

• They get to keep 100% control of their customers and supply chain
• Have a large network of installers to dip into, should they need to subcontract work they are not qualified to install
• Able to make the most out of their existing customer and obtain further new business.

If you would like more information on The North East Network of Green Deal Installers or are an Installer wanting to get Green Deal Approved and join the Network register online, email your interest to training@energyfriend.co.uk or call us on 0800 046 1972.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Energy Friend .