Solar Power Cold Hard Facts
For the average household using 15,000kWh of heat a year, the Renewable Heat Incentive will provide the following benefits if solar thermal panels and a biomass boiler were installed:
13,700kWh of heat generated paying the homeownearly £1,400 a year (the kW difference being made up through energy efficiency measures such as insulation)
Biomass fuel costs could be as much as £575 per year Therefore the total annual benefit is £825 per year
How can I claim?
What you need to do to start claiming the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) To claim the Renewable Heat Incentive, you will have to do the following:
1. Speak with one of our certified installers who can assess the needs of YOUR home, provide a quote and information on the renewable heat incentive.
2. Get the systems installed and certified
3. Figure out what renewable heat systems will be best for your property
Eligible heat technologies
The government has asked how other technologies might be recognised, and has already proposed tariff levels for the following:
- Air source heat pumps
- Anaerobic digestion to produce biogas for heat production
- Biomass heat generation and CHP
- Ground source heat pumps
- Liquid biofuels (but only when replacing oil-fired heating systems)
- Solar thermal heat and hot water
Biogas injection into the grid
The Renewable Heat Incentive will also pay a tariff for feeding biomethane from anaerobic digestion back into the natural gas grid.
Maintenance of Renewable Heat Systems
Unlike the Feed-In Tariffs, the Government has specified a maintenance requirement for RHI systems, to ensure they continue to produce useful heat.
To make sure that the incentive is paid only to installations that function correctly, regular evidence of ongoing maintenance and repair will probably be required.
This will have to be carried out by an approved/qualified person although details have yet to be fully defined.
