Yes, really. The government has a scheme for giving an incentive to property owners to install renewable heat systems. It’s called RHI – the Renewable Heat Incentive. Naturally, there are some conditions attached to it: to qualify, your home has to have cavity wall insulation and at least 150mm (6 inches) of loft insulation.
The scheme takes an estimate of the energy needs of your home and makes an annual payment every year over 7 years. As an example, if your home was assessed to qualify for an RHI payment of £7000, you’d get £1000 a year every year for 7 years. The payment varies according to property size. Here are some examples:
- 1 Bedroom property = £4,000 – £5,5000
- 2-3 Bedroom property = £4,500 – £7,000
- 4 Bedroom property = £6,000 – £8,000
These are averages, the actual figure will be based on an assessment of fuel usage. This can be substantially higher or lower depending on the assessment of your particular property. Call us to discuss what a possible figure could be for your own property.
So, if you replace a gas or oil boiler with a heat pump you could be eligible for a substantial RHI payment from the government.
But what’s the cost of running that heat pump?
Here are some average annual running costs of an Air Source Heat Pump, these are rough average numbers which will depend on how well insulated the property is, how warm you want to keep it, and how much hot water you use. Exact numbers are impossible to work out, but if you talk to our surveyor he can help with guidance.
Here are some rough estimates for a start:
- 1 Bedroom property = £380.00 running cost per year (based on 8,000 kWh per year)
- 2-3 Bedroom property = £570.00 running cost per year (based on 12,000 kWh per year)
- 4 Bedroom Property = £810.00 running cost per year (based on 17,000 kWh per year)
Compare these costs with the potential RHI payment, and you can see you won’t just get low cost heat, the government will pay you an incentive payment on top of that.
Take the example of a 2-3 bedroom property. The RHI payment could be up to £7000 over 7 years, which is £1000 a year, but the running cost is only £570. Obviously these figures will vary for different properties – give us a call to talk to our surveyor and find out what it could mean for your home.
