Evy Coe
Biomass boilers are a great way to heat homes that aren’t connected to the gas main. They can, however, have significant upfront installation costs. The RHI provides financial support to biomass boiler owners and generates some return on their investment.
The extra return that the RHI offers can be added to your potential savings on your fuel bill. Together this gives you the return that switching to a biomass boiler could offer you. The RHI offers a substantial increase to this return, so it’s worth applying for if you can. Read on to find out more about the Domestic RHI and how to check if your biomass boiler is eligible.
Is my biomass boiler eligible?
There are a variety of criteria that determine your eligibility for the RHI. Specialist renewable energy companies will be able to advise you on how your biomass boiler can meet these criteria.
- Your biomass boiler must be installed by a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified installer.
- You must apply within 12 months of the commissioning date of your biomass boiler.
- Biomass boilers must appear on Ofgem’s Product Eligibility List. This is to ensure they meet air quality and fuel type requirements.
- You must use an approved sustainable fuel from the Biomass Suppliers List.
- You must have made some financial contribution to the cost of the biomass boiler. It cannot have been fully covered by a grant or another source of funding that you do not have to pay back.
- Your property must have a domestic Energy Performance Certificate that is less than 24 months old. If the EPC recommends extra loft and cavity wall insulation to your property, you must install it. Some exceptions apply, for example if you live in a conservation area.
How much could I get?
The current tariff for biomass boilers is 4.28p per kWh of heat. This tariff applies to applications submitted between 1 April 2017 and 30 June 2017.
Biomass boilers do not need metering if they heat your entire home. This means that your payments will be based on the estimated heat generation of your boiler. You may need metering if your boiler is not supplying all the heat needs of your property. Even if you do not need metering, optional metering and service packages are available from certain manufacturers. Taking one of these packages will add £200 per year to your RHI payments.
For example, if your biomass boiler produced 15,000kWh of heat per year, you would receive yearly RHI payments of £642. This works out to £160.50 per quarter. These payments last for 7 years. Your total payment from the RHI would be £4,494.
These tariff rates are subject to a yearly adjustment in line with the Consumer Price Index.
Changes to the RHI
Some changes to the RHI have been proposed by the government. These are expected to be implemented in summer 2017, but have not currently received parliamentary approval.
The proposed tariff change for biomass boilers is an increase to 6.54p per kWh. This rate will apply to those who apply to the scheme after 14 December 2016. This means you won’t lose out on the rate increase if you apply to the RHI now.
There is also a proposed heat demand limit for biomass boilers. This effectively adds a cap on the highest amount of RHI payments a biomass boiler can receive. This cap is proposed to be 25,000kWh. If you do have a property with a higher heat demand than this cap, you can still apply for RHI payments. You just won’t receive RHI payments for heat that your boiler produces above this cap.
For more information about the RHI, see Ofgem’s website.
