As of April 1st the price of energy is rising and households will be set with higher household bills each month.
At David Phillip Estate Agents, read my blogs advising on ways to save money or energy.
Today my blog is about the boiler upgrade scheme and Heatpump grants.
A new scheme worth up to £6,000 offering heat pump grants to homeowners in England and Wales launches this week – this will encourage homeowners to install low carbon heating systems to help with the upfront cost of low carbon heating technologies.
Providing they meet the criteria, low carbon systems that are installed on or after April 1st will be entitled to this grant providing, they meet the criteria.
Householders who own their own properties requiring a ground source heat pump will receive £6,000 however most house owners joining the scheme will receive a £5,000 grant to help cover the cost of installation of an air source heat pump.
The cash is designed to help cover the cost of the heat pump or biomass boiler, the installation, and any required changes to your home such as having new radiators installed that work with the heat pump.
The average cost of installing a new system will be around £10,000, so the current grant will help towards that cost depending on the size of your home. It is intended that the grant will make the cost of installing a heat pump like that of getting a new boiler.
Most homeowners in England and Wales will be eligible for the grant, although it won’t be available to those in social housing and new-build properties (unless you are building your own home).
As part of the criteria, you will also need to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with no outstanding recommendations for loft or cavity wall insulation.
With this scheme, you won’t apply for the grant directly, the first step is to find MSC certified installers in your area – get a quote from a couple of installers listed so that you can compare quotes to get the best deal. The heat pump installer will then apply to Ofgem, the energy regulator for a grant on your behalf – once reviewed, Ofgem will issue a voucher confirming the amount of the grant.
The installer will have a set amount of time to install with around 3 months for most installations.
To confirm that the eligibility criteria have been met, the installer will issue a ‘microgeneration certification certificate’- they will then submit this to Ofgem who pay the amount directly to the installer – you will then be sent a bill for the outstanding amount.
What is a heat pump? – looking like air conditioning units on the outside of the building like a fridge in reverse they absorb into a liquid refrigerant from the outside. A pump compresses the liquid to increase the temperature, then condenses the liquid to release heat. The heat is then sent to the hot water cylinder and radiators.
Much more efficient than a gas boiler the pumps which are powered by electricity, extract heat from the environment – even if the outside temperature is low. The house will warm a little slower than when you ‘put the heating on’ with traditional gas central heating.
So, as the cost of heating increases, these are two ways of becoming more energy efficient whilst also taking advantage of the Government Grant schemes.
April is also a great time to think about selling your home. If you live in Bramhope, Adel, Pool-in-Wharfedale or Otley call David Phillip FRICS for a free market appraisal on 01134 676 400
A: 86, Leeds Road, Bramhope, Leeds w:davidphillip.co.uk e:info@davidphillip.co.uk
