The UK’s leading MCS Accreditation specialists Easy MCS have applauded the government’s decision to introduce the Renewable Heat Incentive from July 2011. Initially the Renewable Heat Incentive will cover commercial applications with the Domestic RHI being introduced in October 2012. Until this time, domestic consumers will be eligible for an RHI Premium Payment which is essentially a one off grant of up to £1,250 and they can then move onto the RHI in October 2012. Once the RHI is introduced on October 2012 any installation back to 15th July 2009 using MCS Accredited equipment and an installer with MCS Certification will be eligible for the on-going funding.

Speaking after the announcement, Thomas Farquhar of Easy MCS commented “We are very pleased with today’s announcement on The Renewable Heat Incentive. This is the confirmation the industry needed that this government is committed to the 2020 carbon targets and now the right investments can be made by installers to enter the Renewable Industry. Reading between the lines it appears that although most people may think the Domestic market is being neglected until 2012, the DECC appears to be trialling the Renewable Heat Incentive with the commercial market thus allowing them to Iron out all the creases before hitting the domestic market in October next year. In the mean time domestic installers will be receiving RHI payments upfront. I think this is a huge step forward for the industry. If the Feed in Tariffs are anything to go by, Domestic installers should not be concerned about RHI payments next year . The commercial Feed In Tariffs are approximately 50% less than the Domestic FITTS, which if mirrored on the RHI, will mean domestic installers will see an excellent return on top of high fuel savings.

On the issue of Air Source Heat Pumps we do not see this as having major impact on the industry as the Government has shown its support for the technology in the upfront payments (RHIPP) being given. The DECC has also shown that Air Source will be introduced in the Domestic RHI due to start in October 2012. We are speaking to increasing numbers of Heat Pump, Biomass and Solar Thermal installers on the back of this announcement and the feedback is not one of concern but one of positive anticipation.”