Domestic RHI Launched

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) pays participants to generate and use renewable sources to heat buildings.  The RHI was launched in November 2011 with incentives for non-domestic installations.  On 9^th April 2014 the scheme was extended to include installations for domestic buildings.

The domestic RHI is targeted at homes not connected to the gas grid as they stand to make the biggest savings, both in terms of fuel bills and carbon emissions.  The scheme is open to homeowners, private landlords, social landlords and self-builders.  Installations in new build homes will only be eligible if self-built.  The domestic RHI is open to installations that heat a singe dwelling house.. The house must have an domestic Energy Performance Certificate.  A payment will be made (on a quarterly basis) for every unit of renewable heat generated.  In most cases this will be based on an estimation of the property’s annual heat use (i.e. the actual output will not be metered).  The following tariffs will apply for 7 years;

More information of applying for domestic RHI can be found on the Ofgem website: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/domestic-renewable-heat-incentive.  This scheme may be particularly attractive to farmhouses and other rural properties;  being off the gas grid they often have high heating costs.  They often also have the resources suited to such technologies, be they sources of biomass, or land and water for the operation of heat pumps. 

Changes have also been proposed to the existing non-domestic RHI. On 9^th April, changes were put before Parliament, if agreed they will come into force during spring 2014.  These changes are;

• Tariff increases for renewable CHP, biomass boilers over 1MW, deep geothermal, ground source heat pumps, solar-thermal and biogas consumption.
• Support introduced for air water heat pump and commercial and industrial energy from waste.

A detailed list of changes to non-domestic tariffs can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265853/Summary_of_changes_to_the_non-domestic_RHI_-_December_2013.pdf