The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is a scheme that has been introduced by the government to promote the use of renewable heat technologies. The scheme works in a similar way to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme that was also introduced by the Government to promote the use of microgeneration products.
The types of products that are eligible with the RHI are:
- Solar Thermal*
- Air Source Heat pumps
- Biomass
- Ground Source Heat pumps
The facts
Even though the RHI is similar to the Feed-in Tariff scheme, there are some important differences, in particular:
- It will be paid for by the Treasury not by energy users
- It is being introduced in two phases; the first phase is being introduced to commercial installations only and the second phase being introduced for homeowners
When does the scheme start?
The first phase started on July 1st 2011, but was only available for commercial installations. The second phase of the scheme to support homeowners/domestic installations will come into force in October 2012. There is a coinciding scheme which was introduced for homeowners on 1st August 2011 which is the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP).
RHPP is being introduced as an incentive before the formal launch of the RHI to encourage the uptake of renewable heat technologies. It will be a grant type scheme to provide homeowners with vouchers for money towards their chosen appliance, the voucher price varying dependant on the kind of technology chosen.
The benefits
The main benefit of the RHI is the generation tariff, which is calculated on the annual amount of heat output given by the chosen technology. The level of payment varies depending on the type of technology and the size of the system. RHI payments are to be paid to the owner of the installation and will be made quarterly over a 20 year period, from the date of registration.
Any installations that have taken place after the 15th July 2009 are still eligible for RHI, but no payments will be awarded until after the registration of the appliance has taken place.
Eligible technologies
A range of renewable heat technologies are eligible for the RHI scheme, including:
Solar Thermal
Solar Thermal heating panels such as the Baxi Solarflo* are installed on the roof of the property and draw energy from the sun which is then turned into heat to provide hot water for the home.
Biomass
Biomass boilers come in various sizes and burn different biomass fuels such as wood, straw, industrial waste or wood pellets. Baxi MCS certified Biomass boilers include:
- The Baxi Bioflo - a wood pellet burner which is designed to be compact for smaller properties
- The Baxi Multiheat - another wood pellet burner which automatically adjusts its heat output throughout the day
Ground Source Heat Pumps
A ground source heat pump (also known as a geothermal heat pump) such as the Baxi Geoflo, uses pipes buried under the ground to extract thermal energy stored below the earth's surface. This energy is used to provide hot water for a domestic heating system.
Air Source Heat Pumps
Air Source Heat Pumps take heat from the outside air and use this to provide heating and hot water for homes.
What to do next
You can have any of the above RHI eligible products installed by a MCS certified installer; you can locate your nearest one by using the installer search on the MCS website.
If you require any further information about the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme, visit out RHI FAQs page.
To find out more about the grants available for the purchase of these technologies, visit our Renewable Heat Premium Payments page.
Alternatively, more information can be found on the RHI website.
