Money off vouchers available under the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme have been increased to £2,300 for ground source heat pumps, £2,000 for biomass boilers, £1,300 for air source heat pumps and £600 for solar thermal systems, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced yesterday (20 May).
Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: 'Over 10,000 householders have already taken advantage of money off renewable heating kit and we want to see even more consumers stepping up to the plate and getting on board. But I want to go even further. I want to kick start this exciting new market for consumer renewable heat technologies.'

Industry has welcomed the announcement, viewing it as a positive step towards the longer term incentive scheme (the Renewable Heat Incentive) which has been postponed until March 2014.

Chief executive of the Micropower Council, Dave Sowden, said: 'These new voucher levels are a welcome boost for an industry which has, in some sectors, seen dramatic drops in sales. This market uncertainty followed a series of delays to the long term incentive scheme and the threatened watering-down of the carbon emission requirements for new build homes.'

He continued: 'Today's announcement provides a welcome signal that the government will continue to support householders wishing to install renewable heating systems. We encourage government strongly to build on this by confirming it will now press ahead with ambitious plans to move to half-way to zero carbon homes in new build, and to publish its proposed details for the long term incentive scheme as soon as possible.'

Heat pump manufacturer CTC has also welcomed the increase in RHPP vouchers. General manager Cliff Arnold said: “We’ve seen the Government talk the talk with initiatives like RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive), Feed-in-tariffs, and the Green Deal, but they’ve all been hit by delays. The rise in RHPP vouchers shows they’re walking the walk too, with positive steps to make renewable technology more attractive and more affordable for householders. The industry now needs to do likewise and spread the word.”

Paul Wakefield, managing director of Grant UK, the oil boiler and renewable solutions manufacturer, hailed the announcement as a positive boost for the sector. “We’re grateful for any incentives from Government that encourage people to invest in renewable systems. It seems to be an acknowledgement from Government that they’ve let the renewable energy solutions sector down quite badly as a result of all the delays there have been to the introduction of the RHI and I’m confident that these increases in grants available will have a positive effect on sales.”

Chris Davis, business development director for Dimplex Renewables, said: “It is very encouraging that DECC is continuing to show commitment to the domestic renewable heat sector by increasing the pre-payment scheme rates. Upfront capital cost is always one of the main barriers to renewables installations, so this latest announcement will certainly help ignite interest.'

He continued: “Despite this positive step, the bigger concern to customers is commitment to the full RHI. It is disappointing that DECC has not taken on board feedback from the industry to grant full grandfathering rights to all RHPP installations, which would guarantee them access to the full RHI when it is announced.

“If the market is to really get moving we need full details of the RHI tariff rates and eligibility criteria as soon as possible to give customers the confidence that is so badly needed.

Tony Bowen, president of the Heat Pump Association commented: “This is a welcome move by DECC, giving further evidence of their commitment to the long awaited implementation of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for domestic properties in Spring 2014. It is essential that DECC provide regular updates to ensure confidence in the RHI is maintained, since confidence has been severely dented by repeated postponements in the past”.

Managing director of Daikin UK, Peter Verkempynck, has echoed the comments of others in the industry saying the increase... “goes some way to mitigating the detrimental effect of postponing the start of the RHI.” He added: “We hope that this move by the Government to increase voucher values will encourage more householders to opt for renewable heating technologies such as air-to-water heat pumps and not to delay their decision until the launch of RHI.”

As well as changes to the voucher values, householders will now be required to undertake a Green Deal assessment before submitting a claim to the Energy Saving Trust to redeem their voucher. DECC says this will help them to think about how renewable heat could fit with energy efficiency improvements for their home and ensure they are advised on choosing the right technology for them.

The additional voucher values are intended to reflect the cost of a Green Deal assessment, as well as the cost of getting these technologies installed in homes. Householders can also use the Green Deal to pay for some of the cost through savings on their energy bill.

The increased voucher values and Green Deal assessment requirement took effect from yesterday (20 May).