Low-income homeowners with electrically heated homes will find it easier to upgrade their heating system from next year after DECC confirmed it plans to change the way in which the ECO (Energy Companies Obligation) scheme ‘scores’ properties with electric heating.

Under its Affordable Warmth Obligation, the means-tested ECO scheme uses funding from energy suppliers to offer heating and insulation improvements for low-income and vulnerable households. It has been well received since it was launched last year but disproportionately few homes heated by electric have been awarded funding to date.

Dimplex says this is because the initial eligibility criteria, which were based on SAP2009 calculations, were not appropriate for non-gas homes - including more than two million homes that are still heated by outdated storage heaters in the UK.

As part of the changes which come into force from April 2015, under Affordable Warmth the savings from repair or replacement of a qualifying electric storage heater will be scored in the same way as a qualifying boiler – and in doing so will receive a higher notional bill saving for the customer. Any storage heater which is broken and cannot be economically repaired, or with a responsiveness of less than 0.2 according to SAP2012 (which effectively means any static storage heater) could be replaced, along with other heaters in the property.

Dimplex marketing director Chris Stammers said: “DECC has recognised that the scoring system was not conducive to electric heating systems and taken steps to change it.”

He continued: “Dimplex contributed to the DECC consultation on these improvements to make sure that the new system works for every individual household and we welcome the change. It will mean a fairer system and a better means of assessing eligibility of electrically heated homes. Crucially, it means low-income homeowners will find it easier to upgrade their heating system with modern, high-efficiency electric appliances.”