Grab that government grant and save energy and money!
As our old inefficient boilers have been working overtime to heat our homes in the chilliest January for decades, it’s worth asking ourselves, is there a more efficient and effective way to heat our homes? And if there is, are there any grants out there to help towards paying for a new efficient boiler or renewable energy system? The good news is, yes, there is! Here are some details of three current government grant schemes.
If you’re a householder interested in generating your own heat or electricity, by installing for example, a heat pump, biomass boiler or solar hot water system, you can apply for a grant of up to £2,500 through the government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme.
You can also get £400 off a new A-rated boiler or renewable heat technology, when you scrap your old, inefficient G-rated boiler through the government’s Boiler Scrappage Scheme.
Alternatively, you may be eligible to apply for a grant of up to £6,000 under the Warm Front Scheme.
Boiler scrappage scheme - switching from a G-rated to an A-rated boiler
The installation of an efficient heating system is an effective way of reducing household energy bills and CO2 emissions, as domestic heating accounts for 14% of the UK’s CO2 emissions. There are currently around 3,500,000 homes in England with the very least efficient type of boiler (G-rated or worse).
To address this the Government is offering up to 125,000 households £400 towards the cost of upgrading their boiler (if G-rated or equivalent or worse) to a high efficiency A-rated one or a renewable heating technology. This will help to save in the region of 140,000 tonnes of CO2 per year - equivalent to taking 45,000 cars off the road!
There are many benefits in upgrading your boiler. New boilers have rated efficiencies of 90% or more meaning that they use less fuel, resulting in lower CO2 emissions and running costs. Renewable heat technologies do not use fossil fuels, reducing CO2 emissions still further.
For example, this means by upgrading your G-rated boiler to an A-rated one, your household heating bill should drop by about a quarter - a saving, on average, of around £235 a year.
The scheme is open to 125,000 householders in England living in an owned or privately rented home. For more information, please visit the Energy Savings Trust website: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Home-improvements-and-products/Heating-and-hot-water/Boiler-scrappage-scheme
Low Carbon Buildings Programme
You can apply for up to £2,500 per property towards the cost of microgeneration technologies. These are ways of generating your own heat or electricity for your own home. You need to decide which microgeneration technology is best for your home. Every home is different and some technologies will be more suitable for you than others.
Grants are currently provided towards the cost of installing the following technologies:
• Solar thermal hot water
• Solar photovoltaics (PV)
• Ground source heat pumps
• Air source heat pumps
• Wind turbines
• Wood fuelled heating (Biomass)
• Small scale hydro
The following technologies will also qualify for funding once accredited installers and products become available.
• Renewable CHP (Combined heat and power)
• MicroCHP
• Fuel cells
To be eligible to receive a Low Carbon Buildings Programme grant you must use a certified installer and a certified product. You choose from lists of certified installers and products, get quotes from installers certified under the microgeneration certification scheme, and apply online for your grant by visiting the Low Carbon Buildings Programme website.
To find out more about grants for householders, amounts available and how to apply online please visit: http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/. You can also read case studies on the experiences of the many people who have already installed microgeneration technologies in their homes.
If you’re looking for grants for microgeneration technologies for a public sector building or charitable body you can apply through phase 2 of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. For more information, please see the following website: http://www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk/, call 0870 423313 or email info@lcbpphase2.org.uk.
Warm Front Scheme
The Warm Front Scheme provides owner occupier or privately rented households who meet specific criteria with a package of insulation and/or heating measures up to a maximum value of £3,500 (or £6,000 where oil, low carbon or renewable technologies are recommended).
Measures include loft insulation, draught proofing, cavity wall insulation, hot water tank insulation, repairs of an existing heating system , gas, electric, oil central heating and conversion of a solid fuel fire to a glass-fronted fire.
All successful grant applicant’s homes will be visited by a trained Technical Surveyor/Assessor, who will determine the full requirements of each individual property.
If you think that you might be eligible for Warm Front, for example, if you are over 60 and receive pension credit or you receive a disability living allowance, please visit their website - www.warmfront.co.uk - or call their enquiry line on 0800 316 2805 to see what help can be provided.
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