Double Glazing Grants For Disabled People

Double Glazing Grants For DisabledThere are many grants available for those with disabilities in the UK but what about double glazing grants for disabled people.

We’ll explain the Disabled Facilities Grant which may cover doors (specifically to provide improved access or to widen) but, other than that, there’s no a lot else around at the moment.

Through its Warm Front plan, the UK government provides grants of up to £3500 for loft and cavity wall insulation, as well as draught proofing, but offers nothing to save heating costs and energy by way of double glazing grants for disabled.

Disabled Facilities Grant

The Disabled Facilities Grant is available to registered people with disabilities who meet the following criteria.

Whoever is residing in the property must be disabled. This could either be the owner or tenant.  They must also intend to stay in the property for the next 5 years at least. Landlords are eligible to apply if they have a disabled tenant.

To be eligible for the grant the measures intended to be carried out are flexible but must be deemed:

  • necessary and appropriate to meet the disabled person’s needs
  • reasonable and can be done – depending on the age and condition of the property

This grant specifically goes towards (amongst other things) the following costs to:

  • widen doors and install ramps
  • improve access to rooms and facilities – eg stairlifts or a downstairs bathroom
  • provide a heating system suitable for your needs
  • adapt heating or lighting controls to make them easier to use

Application is through your local council who will send an occupational therapist round to assess and discuss.

As you can probably tell, whilst it may go towards the cost of doors should access need to be improved, it’s unlikely that these grants for disabled people will go towards the cost of double glazing.

Disabled Facilities Grants are not available in Scotland; for residents of that nation, social services would determine if and how much money could be offered for home renovations. Sometimes the waitlist for grants, including double glazing grants for disabled persons is quite long, so it’s a good idea to apply before the situation becomes too dire.

Energy Grants

Most measures used to start with a Green Deal Assessment on the home. This was designed to recommend the optimum energy saving measures and provide details of what cashback or grants will be available and appropriate. Unfortunately it’s no longer possible to book a Green Deal Assessment through the Government as they shelved the scheme unexpectedly back in 2015. You can read more about the old  Green Dealand the other discontinued Green Deal Home Initiative Fund.

There is a new privately run version of the Green Deal but this no longer includes any help towards the cost of windows or double glazing. You can read more here >>>

There are still however certain energy grants available through the Government. These are awarded on a case by case basis and depend entirely upon your individual situation and circumstance.

The website states:

You might be eligible for help with your energy bills or to make your home more energy efficient.

To find out what energy saving improvements can help, you’ll need to know:

  • what kind of measures you already have (eg, insulation or double glazing)
  • a general idea of when your home was built

There’s a specific calculator for this – Access The Calculator >>>

Financial Help

There’s still a couple of options for financial help towards the cost of heating your home:

Warm Home Discount Scheme: A £140 one off discount paid over the winter months. More Info >>>

Affordable Warmth Obligation: You may be eligible for energy-saving improvements to your home if you either:

  • claim certain benefits and live in private housing
  • live in social housing

Not specifically aimed at the disabled but worth checking out anyway. Read More >>>

Ways to Reducing Heat Costs without Double Glazing Grants for the Disabled

Fortunately, there are other ways to reduce the amount of heat that seeps out through single glazed windows, which only have one sheet of glass. Double glazed windows contain two sheets with a small air gap between them, which serves as insulation.

A construction technique known as secondary glazing can help homeowners warm up their houses by applying a second layer of glass to their single glazed windows without removing the pieces already in place. There are even very cheap do it yourself solutions involving a material akin to industrial strength cling film (I’m sure there’s a more technical name for this!!!!) – not perfect but it does help. Whilst these solutions obviously don’t sit as tightly as double glazing would, they can serve as a less efficient form of insulation that can cut costs in the winter.

You could also consider hanging a heavy curtain over the windows, especially those facing the north or any direction where strong winds come from.

Partial double glazing is an option for disabled people who would need a grant to replace all the windows in the house.

Starting with the draughtiest areas will reduce some heat loss and make your house more energy efficient.

This could be a long-term project with extra cash going into upgrading each window over time.

Anything that helps keep the warmth in and save energy and money has to be good!

Now is not a bad time to buy either. Because of the lack of grants most window companies are being very competitive and offering some excellent incentives and easy payment schemes. Worth considering for sure!

Double Glazing Grant Options for the Disabled

As we’ve established, grant options are limited right now. Contact your local council in the first instance as most grants are administered through them. Also worth checking out are the various charities as some of these do have a pot of money to help in some cases.

Even if you can’t get a grant it’s still worth making contact with your local or national windows companies. They have lots of options. Scrappage schemes, BOGOF deals and interest free easy payments options being some of the main choices. Prices are low at the moment. The deals out there are incredibly competitive! A pretty good time to buy – grant or no grant!

Good luck.