The Boiler Scrappage Scheme

England: The Boiler Scrappage Scheme for England is currently exhausted

Wales: A scheme for the over 60's and who live in Wales is still running, for details of this scheme please click here

Scotland: The new Scottish government boiler scrappage scheme could provide you with a grant for £400 towards the cost of your new "A" rated efficient boiler in Scotland, for details of this scheme please click here

Northern Ireland: Unfortunately there are not yet any plans for a boiler scrappage scheme for Northern Ireland. If you want to have your say on this subject please click here

Grants

The government’s Energy Review 2006 reaffirms the existing commitment to eliminate "fuel poverty" which is defined as the need to spend more than 10% of a family’s disposable income on energy to maintain a healthy living environment. To that end, families that can claim one of the following benefits may be eligible to receive 100% grants for insulation, lighting or more efficient heating systems:

• Income Support
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Benefit (but not including the single occupancy reduction)
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance
• War Disablement Pension (which must include mobility supplement or constant attendance allowance)
• Disablement Pension Credit (which must include constant attendance allowance)
• Child Tax Credit (with a household income of less than £14,600)
• Working Tax Credit (with a household income of less than £14,600)
• State Pension Credit

Grants for Domestic Renewable Projects   

The government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme will provide a grant of up to £400 for a new domestic solar heating system, for example, (in Scotland the grant rate is 30% of the system price up to a maximum of £4,000), but before awarding a grant, as a householder, you must demonstrate that you are not wasting energy elsewhere in your home and have taken measures such as installing loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, low energy light bulbs and room thermostat/timer controls for your central heating.

Local Grants

Many local grants are available. We recommend that you check with your local council or library for grant availability in your area.

Solar for London offers grants of up to £1500 for new domestic solar heating systems.

Affordable Energy offers homeowners and landlords grants for heating, insulation and solar heating.

The Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative (SCHRI) provides funding for most household/community renewables technologies as well as funding for connections to the Lerwick District Heating Network. Information and application forms can be found at the Energy Savings Trust website: www.est.org.uk/schri/

Community Energy Scotland provide grant funding and advice on small-scale renewable energy to householders and community groups throughout the Highlands and Islands. It also holds a grant and investment fund to help communities develop larger-scale projects to generate and sell energy, bringing revenue to their community. CES also provides renewable energy advice to applicants to Big Lottery Fund Scotland's Growing Community Assets (GCA) funding scheme.

National Grants

Warm Front offers a rebate of £300 against the cost of an "A" rated boiler for the over 60's in England only. For more information on this scheme, please click here

Warm Front also provides grants of up to £3500 (£6000 in certain circumstances). For more details of this scheme please click here

Solar Heating

Over 70% of the average household’s energy use goes into space and water heating, so a source of free hot water to use instead of commercial energy can make a dramatic financial saving. Solar Water Heating is the renewable technology of choice for most UK households as it offers a quicker payback (7-15 years for an average household) than Photovoltaics (20-30 years) and the advantage that there is already an established network of installers. More immediate financial impact on your energy budget can achieved through energy saving measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation that typically pay for themselves in 1- 3 years.

However solar water heating does require plumbing and heating expertise to size, install and balance effectively, not typically suitable for the DIYer. When choosing an installer look for companies with recognised plumbing and heating certification such as CORGI, IPHE or APHC and experience in installing solar systems.

Solar Water Heating uses the radiation from the sun to heat water in a panel often sited on the roof which in turn can supply that heat as hot water or to a central heating system. Unfortunately the demands on your central heating system are at their highest when the sun is weakest so a solar heating system will only contribute to part of your heating energy requirements.

The positive side to the strength of the sun in summer is that it is the peak demand for swimming pools, static caravans and holiday lets.

If the system has been sized correctly, it can provide at least 40-60% of all your hot water requirements throughout the year. The average domestic system reduces carbon dioxide emissions by around 400kg per year.

Solar Water Heating should not be confused with generating electricity from the sun or photovoltaics (PV) in which solar power is used to directly generate electricity which can be used in the home or fed into the National Grid.

Solar panels should be sited on a south-facing pitched roof, free of shade, at an angle of between 20 and 50 degrees, or may be mounted on an angled frame on the ground or on a flat roof. The typical domestic installation requires 2 - 5 square metres of roof area and you may also need space to locate an additional water cylinder if required.

All of the above information is courtesy of the renewable energy centre

Lee Hood Plumbing & Heating Ltd

Lee Hood Plumbing and Heating Ltd have BTEC qualifications in the supply and fitting of solar hot water installations and we have recently completed 26 installations of solar panels and controls, along with hot water storage cylinders for Staffordshire Council, using systems supplied to us by RM Solar of Wakefield.

We can also help with Ground source heat pumps, Air source heat pumps and Biomass boilers and even solar photovoltaic panels for the provision of electricity.

If any of this is of interest to you, please feel free to contact us and let us know how we may help you.