What The RHI Has Accomplished So Far
And Why You Should Sign Up Before It’s Gone
With the possibility of benefiting from the RHI for domestic properties now extended up until March 2022, there’s never been a better time to get in on the scheme and start saving on a new renewable energy heating system for your home. We take a look back at what the RHI is, what the RHI has accomplished, and whether you should sign up for the RHI scheme.
What is the RHI?
We’ve spoken about RHI in previous articles, but if you’re new to the scheme then here’s a simple breakdown.
A key part of the UK Government’s commitment to making the country carbon neutral by 2050, the Renewable Heat Incentive was launched in 2014. The aim of the RHI is to provide financial incentives to homeowners to replace older, more polluting systems with ones that are low-carbon emitting and use renewable energy sources.
The more domestic households that switch over to renewable heating, the better able the UK will be to meet its renewable energy targets and reduce its carbon emissions. Key to joining the RHI for homeowners is an EPC. The Energy Performance Certificate looks at the best energy solution for your home and ways you can save energy and money. If you have one, then that’s the first step in the process.
After getting your approved new renewable heating system installed (air-source and ground-source heat pumps are some of the most common replacement systems) a successful RHI recipient can expect quarterly payments for seven years based on how much heat they generate and use. For many homeowners this can result in a system being entirely paid for by these Government RHI payments.
What The RHI Has Accomplished
Overall, the scheme has been widely seen as a success with not only some great stats, but also a very real positive impact on individual homeowners who wanted to make the move to renewable but previously could not afford it. We’ve taken a look at the official figures and rounded up some of the highlights.
How Many People Have Received RHI Approval?
An average of 9,400 applications were made annually between 2016 – 2018, but 2019/20 saw a peak of over 14,000 domestic RHI applications. Of those 14,000 more than 12,500 were approved which takes the total number of approved applications for a domestic RHI to 78,206 by the end of March 2020.
What Heating Alternatives Are Most Popular In The RHI Scheme?
With their great returns, efficient installation, and needing less space than their ground-source equivalents, air-source heat pumps have been by far the most commonly installed renewable alternative. In fact, last year air-source heat pumps accounted for over 80% of applications.
How Much Has Been Paid Out On The RHI Scheme?
On an individual basis the RHI payments can entirely cover the cost of a renewable energy heat pump (depending on the amount of heat generated and used as well as installation costs). On a country wide scale this has resulted in payments totalling £132.9million last year, and £529.2million since launch.
How Much Energy Has Been Generated?
The total amount of renewable heat generated by this scheme so far is a staggering 4,596.9GWh. And importantly there are some great figures for carbon savings too. An estimated 4.95MtCO2 will be potentially saved over the lifetime of the scheme.
Should You Sign Up?
Simply, yes. The Government extension to the scheme is a great opportunity to sign up before its gone. While not every house will qualify, and the savings vary, if you are looking to move to renewable or are interested in an efficient heating system that can potentially pay for itself (when combined with RHI) then definitely look closer at RHI. Talk to the team at Trusted Energy about what the right solution is for you and we’ll help guide you through the RHI process.
