Did you know you can get paid to install a new heating system in your home? To encourage people to invest in an eco-friendly heater, the UK government offers the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), a scheme that allows you to receive regular cash payments over seven years if you have a renewable heating system installed in your home.
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The RHI was started by the UK government to help reach the aim of making 12% of the country’s heating renewable by 2020. It will continue to process applications up until 2022, allowing new people to benefit.
The payments are designed to account for the difference between the installation and operational costs of a renewable heating system compared to that of a traditional, fossil fuel heating system
There are two variations of the RHI scheme, domestic and non-domestic. The mon-domestic RHI covers businesses and the domestic covers home use. For this article, we will only be covering the domestic RHI scheme and how you can benefit from it.
If any of your home heating comes from a renewable source, you may be eligible for RHI payments. While the following technologies are most likely going to be covered under the scheme, it is worth reading over the full requirements on the Ofgem website.
All heating systems covered under the RHI must be listed as a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and be issued with an MCS certificated. Some of the technologies listed under the MCS include:
Note that air to air heat pumps and woodstoves without integrated boilers are not covered under the RHI.
If you are claiming RHI payments for a biomass system, it must also include an RHI Emissions Certificate and the fuel must be supplied by an approved sustainable fuel supplier. A list of approved fuel suppliers can be found on the government’s biomass supplier list (BSL).
To apply for RHI you must be an owner-occupier, private landlord, self-builder or a registered provider of social housing, including single domestic dwellings. Newer builds are unlikely to be eligible for RHI payments as they’re often energy-efficient already and do not need this additional benefit.
Applications for the RHI are fully automated through the Ofgem website and decisions are usually processed immediately.
To make the application process as easy as possible, it is important to have the following information handy when you start:
Heating systems that have received a Government grant will require you to provide details of this transaction including, the amount paid out, date of payment and installation costs.
After a successful RHI application, you will receive cash payments every quarter over seven years. The exact value you will receive will depend on what kind of heater you have installed.
The amount you get in each payment is based on a tariff system, so the more renewable energy you produce, the more you get paid. The tariff varies depending on what kind of technology you have installed, as seen in the table below.
| Air Source Heat Pump | Biomass Boiler | Ground Source heat pump | Thermal Solar Panel | |
| Tariff (p/KWh of renewable heat as of July 2020) | 10.85p | 6.97p | 21.16p | 21.36p |
*Prices are adjusted every year according to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
Depending on the system you have installed, the amount of energy you generate will be calculated, either by estimating your energy production or will measured exactly through a metering system.
If your heating system only heats part of your house or involves a back-up heater, your energy production will need to be metered. Metering will also be required for properties that are occupied for less than half the year.