Renewable Heat Incentive

The Renewable Heat Incentive, or RHI as it is more commonly known, is a government backed scheme designed to reward those who install renewable heating technologies.

There are 2 schemes currently available – a DOMESTIC RHI scheme for those using renewable technology to heat individual homes, and a NON-DOMESTIC RHI scheme for those heating multiple properties or business premises.

Both schemes pay a set rate depending on the type of technology you have installed and require both the machinery and installer to be certified to enable the installation to be eligible for the scheme.

 

DOMESTIC RHI

Anyone installing a renewable heating technology in their home to MCS standards is eligible to apply for the Domestic RHI scheme. It pays you for 7 years depending on the type of heating you have and how much heat your home needs. The scheme has now been live since April 2014 and thousands of applicants have benefitted from it.

Tariffs have varied for the specific technologies, but typical payments for current installations are shown below.

 

Ground Source heat pump –       £ 3,830.00/year (7 years)

Air Source heat Pump –                 £ 1,490.00/year (7 years)

Biomass Boiler –                              £ 1,348.00/year (7 years)

Solar thermal collectors                £    390.00/year (7 years)

 

Obviously, the exact amount you will receive will depend on your specific house requirements and the type and efficiency of your system but with the right information this can be calculated very accurately before you make any decision.

The scheme usually works on deemed heat loads for each house meaning that a calculated amount of heat is paid for, normally set by an EPC (heat pumps and biomass) or worked out by the installer for solar thermal collectors.

The payments are designed to offset any premium paid over and above conventional heating systems for installing a renewable one. There are also other critical elements to the RHI which can affect your payments so it worth talking to an expert to enable you to maximise any investment return.

 

 

NON-DOMESTIC RHI – COMMERCIAL RHI

The Commercial RHI preceded the Domestic RHI, and offers similar incentive payments to those using renewable heating technology for commercial purposes. Theoretically any renewable installation, done correctly, would be eligible for one or other of the RHI schemes, though knowledge and experience of the two schemes may prove invaluable as there are significant differences between the two.

The Non-Domestic RHI is paid over a longer term (20 years) though tariff levels are much lower. Rather than basing payments on set (deemed) levels of heat being used/produced, the non-domestic scheme requires installations to be metered and payments calculated on the readings submitted every quarter. Some tariff levels are also capped at specific levels to monitor the amount of funding available.

It’s very difficult to estimate “average” returns on commercial installations, purely as they do not perform in line with conventional heating patterns or assumptions. We’ve therefore given guidelines as to returns from levels of heat usage as below:

 

  30,000 kWh 60,000 kWh 120,000 kWh
Biomass* £   915.00/yr £ 1,830.00/yr £ 3,660.00/yr
Air Source Heat Pump £   576/00/yr £ 1,152.00/yr £ 2,305.00/yr
Ground Source Heat Pump-* £ 2,106.00/yr £ 4.212.00/yr £ 8,424.00/yr

*- at tier one capacities

The RHI can be the icing on the cake for any business installing a renewable technology. On top of the running cost savings that renewables offer and the environmental benefit which can have huge marketing and commerce advantages, you will also benefit from significant payments which can often offset the majority of costs of any installation.

 

What the RHI offers

When choosing to use a renewable form of heating for your home or business, there are many benefits that you can experience and take advantage of. The RHI takes the uncertainty out of the situation, ensuring that you can receive a substantial reward for any investment made in renewable heating.

In almost all circumstances, choosing to go with a renewable heating option will leave you financially better off than opting for a conventional fossil fuel alternative.

The RHI also ensures that both your product and your installer are of a satisfactory standard, something that OFGEM are keen to promote to ensure that installed systems are both efficient and reliable for their owners.

 

Talk to us….

Menai Heating have been installing renewable technologies from before the RHI was available and have seen the scheme grow and transform into its current format. Indeed, we were responsible for the very first successful Welsh RHI application back in 2012.

More importantly for our customers, we have a 100% record in achieving RHI application success for our clients and have a dedicated team who can answer any questions you have, explain your options and the impact of any decisions on your installation and your application, and help you when making your application to ensure things go as smoothly as possible.

Having over 140 successful RHI applications made, we can offer unrivalled experience in getting the best results for our customers and ensuring that they are receiving the full benefit of their renewable heating choice.

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