(Source: PropertyWire) Home owners and private tenants in the UK can now make energy saving improvements to their homes without having to pay all the costs up front under the government's new Green Deal programme.

But there are warnings and criticisms emerging already with most concerns centred on people being able to understand what they can and can't do under the flagship policy.

Under the deal a home owner or tenant can make energy saving improvements including insulation, heating, draught proofing, double glazing, solar panels and wind turbines and borrow the money which is then paid back over a number of years via their energy bill.

The person who pays the electricity bill pays the money back so if you're a tenant in a rented property, you'll be paying back the costs, not the landlord. This is because the tenant can expect to benefit from lower energy costs.

Kim Vernau, Chief Executive Officer of new homes insurance provider BLP Insurance

, said there is a lot of confusion. 'Whilst the ultimate objective of the Green Deal is laudable there is a great sense of confusion surrounding the policy. Indeed, the Government's omission to make further predictions on the number of households likely to benefit from the scheme, coupled with no indication of how much carbon is actually likely to be saved, has done little to stem doubts,' she explained.