The Green Deal for Britain’s non-domestic buildings won’t launch on the same day that it will be introduced to households.

Ministers first planned to bring the Green Deal to the UK’s households and businesses at the same time in October. Now though, DECC, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, is looking at phased introductions of the Coalition government’s flagship energy efficiency scheme.

A spokesperson representing DECC told GreenWise that the Green Deal for business is being delayed because of the non-domestic market’s complexity and said that it’s highly likely the Green Deal for businesses will not be launched on the same day as the Green Deal for UK households as timing is everything.

According to the spokesperson, ministers and experts in the field are discussing the best way to launch both phases of the Green Deal while ensuring that the programme is a success from day one. It was confirmed that small businesses might be allowed to participate in the smaller domestic scheme.

The decision from DECC comes after calls made by some business quarters that demanded the launching of the Green Deal for non-domestic buildings to be rethought. Apparently, government officials and the heads of Britain’s largest energy firms are weighing up their options on how best to implement a more scaled-back launch of the Green Deal for the domestic market.

The delay will mean that businesses and landlords must wait longer before investing in energy efficiency improvements with no upfront costs during a time when annual energy costs could increase by over 10 per cent at the least.