What is it?
The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is designed to provide financial support that encourages individuals, communities and businesses to switch from using fossil fuel for heating, to renewables such as wood fuel. The Government is currently consulting on the design of the incentive which they are proposing to introduce in April 2011.
How the scheme works
If you replace your existing fossil fuel heating system (e.g. gas, oil or coal) with a renewable technology (e.g. wood fuel) you could get paid a set amount each year as an incentive for you to reduce your CO2 emissions and help prevent climate change.
The Government are not proposing to measure the heat generated from installations. Instead, an estimated figure will be used to work out payments. The estimated figure represents the amount of heat energy needed to warm the home and/or hot water and will vary by house age and size, as well as by technology. It is proposed that payments would be made annually to householders.
Eligible technologies
· Air, water and ground-source heat pumps,
· Solar thermal,
· Biomass boilers,
· Renewable combined heat and power,
· Use of biogas and bioliquids,
· Injection of biomethane into the natural gas grid.
To find out which technology is suitable for your home try our Home Energy Generator Tool.
Treatment of existing installations
The Government is proposing that projects where an installation was completed before 15 July 2009 will not be entitled to RHI support. Anything installed after this date is proposed to receive the incentive as if it was installed on the first day of the scheme.
Read the RHI consultation document on the Department of Energy and Climate Change website.
It's packed with:
