Under the £10m Cleaner Heat Cashback scheme, SMEs in London will be able to receive a contribution of 30 per cent towards the cost of installing a new high-efficiency, low-NOx gas or LPG boiler. This figure will increase to 35 per cent in Air Quality Focus Areas. Where new boilers are used in a hybrid system, the contribution also increases to 35 per cent (uplifting to 40 per cent in AQFAs). 

The scheme, which will be administered by the Energy Savings Trust, started on July 30 2018 and will run until March 31 2020, or until funds last.
The scheme applies to existing coal or biomass boilers of any age and gas or LPG boilers that are a minimum of 10 years old, with a minimum total output of 70kW. The replacement boilers must be at least 90 per cent efficient and have NOx emissions of 40mg/kWh or less. 

Chris Meir, sales director at Remeha, said: “We applaud this positive initiative by the Mayor of London’s office to incentivise the replacement of inefficient boilers with cleaner, lower carbon, ultra-low NOx condensing boilers. 

“As a leading boiler manufacturer and supplier – and a pioneer of condensing boiler technology – we look forward to working with contractors and installers to support delivery of this scheme in London.

“Far too many UK non-domestic buildings rely on dated, inefficient boiler plant, wasting energy, creating unnecessarily large heating bills and polluting the air with needlessly high greenhouse gas emissions.”

Potterton Commercial has also welcomed the boiler scrappage scheme. Steven Evans, sales director at Potterton Commercial, said: “Potterton Commercial supports the Mayor of London’s commitment to improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions. London’s workplaces make up around 40% of the capital’s greenhouse gas emissions and seven per cent of its NOx emissions. However, more energy efficient heating systems can help lower emission levels and improve air quality.

“Potterton Commercial has a range of boilers to support the scheme, with our forthcoming Sirius 3 line offering one of the lowest NOx ratings on the market. All our models are ErP compliant, highly efficient and offer a maximum modulation ratio of 9:1. With outputs of up to 250kW and cascade options, there’s an efficient boiler for every type of building and usage.”

Ideal Commercial Boilers is similarly supportive. National sales manager Andy Forrest stated: “The initiative is a great incentive for businesses to reassess their current carbon footprint.

“On our part, we will be assisting the process by offering free commissioning on the majority of our condensing commercial boiler range.”

Meanwhile John Bailey, sales director for commercial and renewable systems at Vaillant added: “Vaillant highly commends this positive initiative from the Mayor of London’s office to incentivise and support SMEs to replace old, inefficient commercial boilers with much cleaner and more efficient alternatives.

“We would champion a national roll out of this scheme across other cities in the UK as we believe it will help to reduce energy wastage and unnecessarily inflated heating bills, and contribute to the reduction in air pollution to provide a healthier environment for all. We look forward to supporting the installer network in London to deliver this scheme.”