Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) explained

Applicable to:

Ground Source Heat Pumps
Solar Thermal Systems
Wood Pellet Boilers
and possibly Air Source Heat Pumps

The scheme is being introduced in two phases:
· In the first phase, long-term tariff support is targeted at the industrial, business and public sectors.
· During the second phase, the RHI scheme will expand to include more technologies as well as support for households. Phase 2 is delayed - the latest update from the DECC concludes that the tariff levels for households will be published during Summer 2013. The scheme is then designed to be up and running during Spring 2014.

People in receipt of the Renewable Heat Premium Payments will be able to receive long term RHI tariff support once these tariffs are introduced, as will anybody who has installed an eligible technology since 15th July 2009.

Payments are to be calculated on the annual amount of heat output, expressed in kilowatt hours (kWh). The beneficiary of the incentive will receive a set amount based on the deemed output, to encourage low energy consumption and discourage wasting heat.

The RHI will encourage renewable energy systems to be installed in buildings adopting a basic level of energy efficiency measures in a "whole house approach". A basic minimum level of energy efficiency required for existing homes would be: at least 125mm of loft insulation and cavity wall filled where appropriate.

To incentivise households to implement these standards, the scheme proposes to introduce so called "deemed" (rather than metered) compensation under RHI. This would be done through an assessment using the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) (or similar) used for energy rating of buildings to identify the appropriate deemed heating heat demand of the building based on the assumption that the minimum, energy efficiency measures will have been taken up alongside the renewable heat installation.

The renewable heat installations will be the sole fixed heating installation in the property (not counting any immersion heater that may form part of such installation).

Whilst Air source heat pumps will be eligible for the Renewable Premium Payment, a decision on whether or not they'll be included in the tariff payments will be based upon consumer feedback on the performance of the technologies. This should be clarified during 2013.

Domestic RHI (proposed):

Technology	Proposed payment
Solar Thermal	17p/kWh
Biomass	5.2 – 8.7p/kWh
Ground Source Heat Pump	12.5 – 17.3p/kWh
Air Source Heat Pump	7 – 12p/kWh

· Paid for 7 years

· May be metered, otherwise deemed

Commercial RHI:

Technology	Payment (adjusted rate from April 2012)
Solar Thermal	8.9p/kWh
Biomass	* Tier 1 – 8.3p/kWh Tier 2 – 2.1p/kWh
Ground Source Heat Pump	4.7p/kWh
Air Source Heat Pump	N/A

*1,314kW x boiler size is the Tier break. Paid at Tier 1 until this point, then at Tier 2

· Paid for 20 years

· Metering required

To keep up to date with the lastest news on the RHI please follow these links:

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/PN2011_023/PN2011_023.aspx

http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Professional-resources/Funding-and-finance/Renewable-Heat-Incentive

East Green Energy specialises in serving Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex with renewable energy solutions, solar electricity PV installations, solar panels for hot water and heating, ground and air source heat pumps, wood pellet boilers, wood burning stoves and other clean energy systems.