EnergyLink Welcome the Return of Solar Thermal Grants

July 22, 2011 - PRLog -- UK HOUSEHOLDS have been warned they will have to act fast if they want to take advantage of the precursor to the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which will get underway next month.

The Government today announced the return of grants for Renewable Heating systems for the first time since the Low Carbon Building Programme was scrapped in May last year.

Ahead of the launch of the RHI scheme in Autumn 2012, residents in England, Scotland and Wales can, from next month, apply for a grant towards the cost of installing a Solar Thermal system which will allow them to make big savings on their water heating bills.

The Government has allocated £12m towards its Renewable Heat support plans which will fund the installation of Solar Thermal as well as other types of Renewable Heating systems such as biomass boilers and heat pumps, in homes across the country.

While some Renewable Heating systems are limited to households on the gas grid, any household can apply for an RHI Premium Payment grant of £300 towards the cost of a Solar Thermal system. But the £12m of ring-fenced funding will only cover the cost of installing Renewable Heat systems in around 20,000 UK households.

As well as saving on hot water bills, when the RHI scheme goes live in October 2012, those who have a Solar Thermal system installed will receive payments for every kilowatt of heat generated.

To qualify for a Solar Thermal grant, homes must be properly insulated and households must be prepared to provide feedback by way of a bi-annual survey. The performance of their system may also need to be monitored, should the Government request it.

Solar Thermal panels must be fitted by an accredited installer, which can be found through an expert industry body such as EnergyLink.

According to EnergyLink however, the much-anticipated scheme is likely to be extremely popular and those keen to benefit from the £300 grant should take action quickly.

The organisation, which puts households in touch with approved installers of energy saving products, has predicted that the £12m funding allocated for the scheme could be hugely oversubscribed given the level of interest there has been in the  RHI  since plans were first drawn up.

The company also believes that price hikes this year among some of the country’s biggest energy suppliers could also contribute to the popularity of the grant scheme.

Once they have applied for the RHI Premium Payment, householders will receive a voucher for the relevant amount and installations must be completed by March 2012.

For more information on Solar Thermal systems and the RHI scheme please visit: http://www.energygrants.co.uk/