renewable heat incentive - is it worth it?

javixeneize

Hi

I have been thinking about replacing my boiler for a greener system, and I have been reading about the new govt programme starting in april that will give out £5000 to install renewable heating systems, and i also have seen an existing programme, renewable heat incentive, that gives you quarterly payments during 7 years if you install that system

Is it worth to apply to any of those programmes? If so, which one would be better?

Thanks

MWT

Can't really answer that until the details of the new scheme are published.

gefnew

Hi
Try this post for info.
Get your heat pump quick? — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Verdigris

I'm about to move to a house with LPG heating and I shall be installing a heat pump replacement. The plot is large enough to support a ground-source heat pump but because the time to complete on house purchases is so long, owing to Covid, I have decided to "downgrade" to an ASHP. The reasons are shortage of time, before the RHI deadline for commissioning, and because digging large excavations in Wales in the middle of winter is asking for trouble.

RHI payments are very good for GSHP, about double than for ASHP, but the installation cost probably won't be double.

Having done a quick estimate of RHI payments for my system with ASHP I found that it is not all that much more than the £5k grant, so I won't be too dismayed if I don't meet the RHI deadline. £5k in my sky-rocket, now, is worth much the same as £6k on the drip over seven years. That also leaves me with money to spend on a heat recovery ventilation system to further reduce running costs over the 7 years.

So, in short, if GSHP is suitable for you, then go for it if you are sure you can meet the March 31st deadline. Otherwise  go for ASHP under the scheme that suits you best, time permitting.

QrizB

The RHI works out OK for most, based on reports on this forum and discussions with a couple of friends.

The new scheme is likely to pay less; whether this is matched by a fall in prices will remain to be seen.

matelodave

For some people the RHI has been a good deal, we got £5k over the seven years and others get even more but to get it you have to stay in the place for seven years so you lose out if you move house before you've got it all.

The other advantage of the £5k up front is that it does help with the capital cost rather than getting it drip fed over seven years. (you wont get both the grant and the RHI).

Even when I got mine there had been a grant beforehand for some but any that had taken it were either not eligible for the RHI or possibly got the balance between the grant and the RHI paid over seven years.

When I installed mine in 2010, the grant wasn't available and the government were shillyshallying about how the RHI was to be implemented so I just went ahead anyway with the prospect of nothing. I'd actuall had the heatpump for nigh on three years before the heatpump RHI was actually impemented  and it was significantly less that the original proposals (both in payments and time) but as far as I was concerned it was a bonus rather than a reason for doing it.

Reed_Richards

I had an ASHP installed in December 2020.  Having made sure I met all the conditions to qualify for the RHI, the actual application process was incredibly swift and easy.  So far I have had 3 payments of over £350 per quarter so that should be over £1400 per year.  You can see that £1400 per year for 7 years will be a lot more than £5000, although it certainly won't cover the cost of the ASHP installation.  

Verdigris

I put my EPC figures into an RHI calculator and was surprised how low it was. I think I may need to get another one done, as I'll be converting to integral garage to accommodation, and to make sure the right features are emphasised to get a more realistic energy use forecast.

I think the EPC is a big flaw in the scheme. Every one I've seen, for a building I know, seems to have fundamental errors or too much emphasis on the wrong points.

Reed_Richards

Nominally my house is at 20.5 C in the evening, marginally cooler during the day.  Between 4/2/2019 and 6/2/2020 I used 1936 litres of oil for heating and hot water.  If I assume my oil boiler is 85% efficient that means I used 15100 kWh of energy over a year.  My EPC reckons my annual energy requirement for heating and hot water is 18900 kWh per year and the heat loss calculation made to determine the size of my heat pump and radiators calculated 40,900 kWh per year.  Take your choice!  

shinytop

Verdigris said:

I put my EPC figures into an RHI calculator and was surprised how low it was. I think I may need to get another one done, as I'll be converting to integral garage to accommodation, and to make sure the right features are emphasised to get a more realistic energy use forecast.

I think the EPC is a big flaw in the scheme. Every one I've seen, for a building I know, seems to have fundamental errors or too much emphasis on the wrong points.

What energy use does your EPC show?  Also, the SCOP on the online calculators I've seen has been on the low side - and the higher it is the more you get. If your total use is at the 20,000kWh cap for anASHP, you should get around £11k.   

Verdigris

shinytop said:

Verdigris said:

I put my EPC figures into an RHI calculator and was surprised how low it was. I think I may need to get another one done, as I'll be converting to integral garage to accommodation, and to make sure the right features are emphasised to get a more realistic energy use forecast.

I think the EPC is a big flaw in the scheme. Every one I've seen, for a building I know, seems to have fundamental errors or too much emphasis on the wrong points.

What energy use does your EPC show?  Also, the SCOP on the online calculators I've seen has been on the low side - and the higher it is the more you get. If your total use is at the 20,000kWh cap for anASHP, you should get around £11k.   

The EPC shows around 12,000 kWh total, with the current inhabitable area of around 80 m2. Converting the garage would bring the inhabitable area up to about 100 m2, so the pro-rata energy use would be 15,000 kWh.

However, the EPC assumes the cavity walls had insulation incorporated. The house was built in the late 1980s when the building regulations changed to include insulation in cavities but it would depend on the application date, which I don't know, whether it is insulated, or not. I've established the inner skin is dense block, rather than lightweight but I won't be able to find out about the insulation until I get possession and can make a hole in the wall. The roof space has 300 mm of insulation (original plus a top-up).

I used the "average climate" SCOP, which was 4-point something with the UFH running at 35 degrees.