Boiler grants

JohnPo

I was having think about the ECO4 scheme based on the query from OP and another one today asking about a broken boiler replacement.  The key to unlocking any funding is the EPC, so if you were to pay for a new assessment which gets a lower rating then you might qualify.  I think assessors will take into account the current state of main heat source, also whether you have led bulbs etc. etc. Will this actually gets you anything useful is another matter?  What was previously a helpful scheme to get some simple insulation measures and a modern boiler with controls, looks now to be a comprehensive insulation only scheme for old draughty houses with an assumption that there is other funding for a modern heating source (i.e. heat pump).  I won't comment on realities of this but the outcome is clear, people will live with broken boilers because of no money to repair or replace relying on immersion heaters, kettles, fan / electric fires etc. - the most financial ruinous form of heating.

MattMattMattUK

Cherry13 said:

Thank you, I will do this, but I am not hopeful. I did an online assessment through entitledto only to be informed that I was entitled to a grant of £5k to replace my boiler with a heat pump, leaving me *only* £3,500 to pay. It seems to me that the Eco funding is mostly going to help the companies installing this new technology (and their shareholders). Anyone with any sense (and the requisite funds) would just replace their boiler as it’s far cheaper and it doesn’t carry the risks of new technology - eg the potential difficulties and increased costs of finding specialist engineers to service and repair it. 

Heat pumps are not new technology, they have been installed in homes around the world for 15-20 years, in the UK for 5-10 years. The technology itself is actually fairly basic, it is just a refrigeration cycle set up slightly differently, a very mature technology. There are plenty of engineers to service and repair it, although it generally comes with much lower servicing and maintenance costs than a traditional boiler. 

Cherry13

Thank you, John - and everyone else too who has kindly responded - for your thoughts on this predicament. I’m sure it will affect many other people, many in sadly far worse situations than mine.
My home’s EPC rating is B, and it was built less than ten years ago, so doesn’t need any further insulation. The boiler has an energy rating of D, so it would be more efficient to replace it even if it was still working. The leak from the boiler is growing worse and it now shuts down with a red light flashing every time it’s switched on, so I’ve decided it can’t be safe to operate and am no longer going to take the risk (damage to the electrics, etc). There’s no sense in paying hundreds of pounds for a repair given that I’ve already been advised to replace it. 

I completely agree with the points you make, and I note that the Citizens Advice Bureau (alongside most of the organisations who responded to the government’s ECO4 consultation process) advised against imposing a 5000 per annum limit on boiler replacements as it will clearly throw even more households into fuel poverty, debt and health crises. It is very disappointing that charities don’t help with this kind of thing; like many people, I’m tired of phoning helplines only to be passed from pillar to post, receiving useless “signposting” advice. If only charities provide practical help.
I’m going to have to heat water with the immersion heater and use a portable fan to heat one room at a time during the winter. Given that I can’t afford to do this, it will probably be wiser to simply freeze. As for lighting, I’ve decided to use candles! It is truly going to be a Dickensian winter….

Spoonie_Turtle

As the usual routes of funding seem closed off to you then, I would very very strongly advise trawling through the disability grants website.

It may also be worth applying to your local council for the Household Support Fund.

At this point apart from the time and energy it takes to apply for things, it appears you have nothing to lose.  If you can't get funding to replace it and there's a £5,000 grant for installing a heat pump instead, you need to attempt to find the other £3,500 for that from other funding sources.  And if you really really can't get it from anywhere, at least you'll have tried and will know you've not missed out on any potential help.

Alnat1

Cherry, candles will cost way more than an efficient LED light bulb unless you make them from your own earwax or something 

QrizB

Cherry13 said:

My home’s EPC rating is B, and it was built less than ten years ago, so doesn’t need any further insulation. The boiler has an energy rating of D, so it would be more efficient to replace it even if it was still working.

A ten-year-old boiler should be better than that. It might even still be under warranty, depending on the model.

There’s no sense in paying hundreds of pounds for a repair given that I’ve already been advised to replace it.

Who exactly has advised you to replace it? You say "a gas engineer" but is it possible they had a vested interest in selling you a replacement?

Cherry13

Thank you, Spoonie Turtle, I will definitely do that and thank you for the link you previously sent. It has some very helpful information about charities I wasn’t aware of. 

Alnat1, tealights are approximately 3p each and candles can generate a surprising amount of heat into the bargain! 

Alnat1

My maths isn't great and I might have got this wrong but I worked out a 5w bulb would cost 0.2p an hour from Oct. I'm sure some can check that.

Might even work out cheaper than candles to have your phone flashlight on all evening with it plugged in charging.

markin

Sadly the are people out there that would happily condemn a boiler if they though they could get the job to replace it. BG also have a bad rep and charge 3x the cost to replace a boiler.

The average life span is 16-20 years.

QrizB

Alnat1 said:

My maths isn't great and I might have got this wrong but I worked out a 5w bulb would cost 0.2p an hour from Oct. I'm sure some can check that.

A 5W LED lamp will run for 200 hours on a single kWh of electricity.

At the moment, a kWh costs 28p on the SVT so that's 0.14p/hr.

If electricity goes up to 44p/kWh in October, it will be 0.22p/hr.

Cherry13 said:

Alnat1, tealights are approximately 3p each and candles can generate a surprising amount of heat into the bargain! 

A 3p tealight would need to burn for at least 14 hours to be cheaper to run than a 5W LED lamp. Most of the cheap ones only seem to burn for 4 hours.