The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is the world’s first long-term financial support programme for renewable heat.

 

The RHI pays participants of the scheme that generate and use renewable energy to heat their buildings. By increasing the generation of heat from renewable energy sources (instead of fossil fuels), the RHI helps the UKreduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet targets for reducing the effects of climate change.

There are two parts to the RHI:

 

• Domestic RHI – launched 9 April 2014 and open to homeowners, private landlords, social landlords and self-builders

 

• Non-domestic RHI – launched in November 2011 to provide payments to industry, businesses and public sector organisations

 

The RHI is the main scheme of our heat strategy.

 

 

The domestic RHI scheme

The domestic RHI scheme opened on 9 April 2014.

It is a financial incentive scheme designed to encourage uptake of renewable heating among domestic consumers. The domestic RHI is targeted at, but not limited to, homes off the gas grid. Those without mains gas have the most potential to save on fuel bills and decrease carbon emissions.

 

The scheme will cover single domestic dwellings and will be open to homeowners, private landlords, social landlords and self-builders. It will not be open to new build properties other than self-build.

The domestic RHI will pay the following tariffs per unit of heat generated for seven years:

 

Technology                                                                       Tariff

Air-source heat pumps                                     7.3p/kWh

 

Ground and water-source heat pumps              18.8p/kWh

 

Biomass-only boilers and biomass pellet

stoves with integrated boilers                           12.2p/kWh

 

Solar thermal panels (flat plate and

evacuated tube for hot water only                      19.2 p/kWh