Details of the Renewable Heat Incentive Announced

For those of you who have been following the progress of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), it’s a tale of ups and downs. We’d all hoped that the scheme would get the industry going much in the same way as the Feed-in Tariff did for solar panels – although we’re keen to see a better long-term plan than was the case for solar.

However up until now we haven’t really had much to get excited about. Delay after delay has a very detrimental effect on an industry. Especially as plenty of customers are putting off installations to see what they will actually be entitled to.

So How Do The Figures Look?

Well the good news is that this week we had an official announcement and a nice set of figures to get excited about. Air source heat pumps will be paid at 7.3p per kWh, ground source at 18.8p per kWh and solar thermal at least 19.2p per kWh hour. The amount of energy installers will be paid for will be based on the renewable energy their household generates. So the performance coefficients are important here; if a heat pump has coefficient of 3.5 it will generate 3.5 units of renewable energy for each unit of electricity it uses. The 3.5 units will be entitled to payments, and the 1 unit of electricity will be discounted.

What about dual heating systems?

The good news is that households who have maintained an existing heating system or installed one in addition (which is not renewable), will still be able to claim the RHI. They will however need to install a meter to ensure that they are only paid for the renewable energy they generate

So Not All Households Will Need A Meter?

If you’re not willing to, or don’t have the space, to install a meter you don’t have to. Estimated figures will be taken from your EPC and green deal assessment to workout how much renewable energy you will generate. If you are interested in installing a meter to get a more accurate payment, you can do this. Plus you’ll receive an additional payment of up to £230.

So The Future Looks Good For Renewables

At Complete Renewables we’re really excited about the RHI. We believe that it will be the boost needed to get the industry going. Heat pumps represent excellent value for money and can save households hundreds, often more, per year. Even without an incentive they are an excellent option for households looking to reduce their spend on energy. With this additional boost heat pumps will surely come to the straight to the front of the queue when it comes to replacing older less efficient technologies.

More information

If you’d like more information on our air source heat pumps, click here. For more information on ground source heat pumps, click here

The full details of the RHI can be found on the Government’s website here

Why are solar panels not a more popular option for home owners?

Home energy costs are on the rise, especially given the recent cold winter. Furthermore it’s hard to find any strong indicator that gas and electricity prices are set to decrease. Even the expected boost in gas production from shale gas is not assured (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22300050)

On the other hand solar panel installations have never been cheaper; Complete Renewables are now offering 16 panel 4kW arrays starting at under £6,000. The Feed-In tariff is still providing government back payments, leading to returns of over 12%.

There’s also technological innovations such as Solar Cache, which allows homeowners to divert unused electricity generated during the day to heat their hot water. This can represent significant saving, especially for families who are mostly not at home during the day.

When solar is combined with other renewable technologies, there is yet more potential to save both money and energy. For example many of our customers who choose to install ground or air source heat pumps also install solar.

With this list of benefits, why doesn’t every roof have a panel array? Well there’s the obvious reasons; lack of funds, rental properties, short-term occupancy. However this only discounts a minority of homes. One explanation we hear often is that homeowners believe they have ‘missed the boat’, that the Feed-In tariff used to a great deal, now it is hardly worth it. It is true that the Feed-In tariff was once more generous, however it still does still represent a quantifiably strong investment. Returns average around 12%, there are very few alternative options with these kind of guaranteed returns. The bank certainly won’t match those figures.

How about the lack of understanding that seems to shroud the industry? There has always been a stigma associated with renewable energies. The same scepticism that wind and wave generated power suffer from. Even heat pumps suffer this: ‘How can heat pumps possibly work in cold weather?’ is a question we hear often. The general public can often be reluctant to believe that a new technology which harnesses solar power (even indirectly, such as wind and heat pumps) can create the necessary power, in the way fossil fuels can. This is, of course, despite the fact that fossil fuels originate their energy from the sun themselves – organic compounds, etc.

It’s not that renewable technologies are any more complicated. Maybe it’s that mostly we’ve all lived through their infancy and development. We’ve heard the anecdotes about wind turbines that cost more in energy to construct than they’ll generate in their lifespan. Although maybe this points to another issue; a generally unenthusiastic media – when did you last read a positive story about renewable energy in the press? Maybe it’s just easier and more appealing to note the negative story. Let’s face it, our media is more interested in what’s going wrong than what’s going right.