Domestic RHI uptake: the story so far... - Yorkshire Heat Pumps

The Department of Energy & Climate Change has announced figures at the end of the first month of domestic RHI, indicating a steady flow of applications and air source as the lead technology to date.

We were interested to see the figures announced this week after the first 21 days of operation of the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. Data to the end of April shows over 1,000 applications have been submitted, with 368 approved, and the majority of the remaining applications still under review.

While this is not exactly an avalanche of applications, it is a healthy number and suggests a positive forecast for the future uptake of renewables. We always expected there might be a bit of a timelag after the scheme went 'live' on 9th April while applicants gather their paperwork. Some may be awaiting those all important air quality certificates for their biomass boilers, as we know there is a backlog of applications being processed by Ofgem and HETAS.

So who were the winners in month one?

Of the four technologies eligible for domestic RHI, the lion's share of applications were for air source heat pumps with 41% of applications 

This was followed by solar thermal at 24%. Biomass came a close third at 22% and ground source was bringing up the rear with 14% of applications. 

It will be interesting to see moving forward how this data is broken down, as currently there is no split between legacy and new installations. Clearly, we would expect legacy applications to peter out quite quickly. We also do not yet know the split, by technology, of the applications approved to date.

Watch this space. Yorkshire Heat Pumps will be monitoring progress and reporting on this periodically.

If you are interested in learning more about the different renewable energy heating options and discovering which one might be right for your project, why not call in and see us at our Blubberhouses showroom. Here at Yorkshire Heat Pumps we are pretty zealous about all things renewable, but perhaps most importantly are on a mission to help customers find the right solution for their lifestage and lifestyle. You can call us for a 'no obligation' chat on 0845 0506539 or Contact us via the website, perhaps with outline details of your project and let us know a convenient time to call you back.