Boiler Scrappage Scheme

The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council believes the new boiler scrappage scheme delivered by the Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP will bring new life into the domestic heating industry.

HHIC strongly welcomes the initiative to replace old inefficient boilers.  It has been campaigning diligently for a long time and given the importance of meeting the government’s emission targets this will make a significant difference. Householders are naturally reluctant to replace a working boiler even though it is wasteful on energy and so an incentive to do this is vital.

While Building Regulations require that when a householder replaces a boiler it must be a high efficiency condensing boiler HHIC had identified that there are some 4.5 million of the least efficient ‘SEDBUK Band G’ boilers in use homes. These have very long lives, are easy and cheap to repair and usually create most inconvenience to replace with a condensing boiler. Consequently they are only being replaced at a very low rate and many are likely to still be in use by 2020.

HHIC has been campaigning for incentives to encourage householders to swap their low efficiency boilers. This lead to some support being provided within the CERT scheme in early 2009.  The PBR announcement is however a real breakthrough in providing an easy to access scheme and some meaningful support for consumers wanting to improve heating efficiencies. It also provides a clear demonstration of government’s recognition about the contribution that boilers and traditional heating systems can make to its carbon reduction commitments.

While the scheme will only apply to 125,000 boilers it is anticipated that the publicity will also encourage others consumers to realise the benefits of replacing old inefficient boilers. The Energy Saving Trust will administer a consumer voucher scheme of which consumers can claim back £400 of the cost of the installation.  The main benefits are its simplicity, its availability to all manufacturers, merchants and installers and it can be up and running in within a few weeks.

How it will work is as follows:

• The householder ‘s (including private landlord) installer must  identify that they have an eligible boiler. This must be a working Band G or equivalent boiler (gas, LPG or oil)

• The householder applies to the Energy Saving Trust with the name and Gas Safe Register number of their installer, quoted amount and the make of their old boiler. The EST then issues a voucher.

• Householder arranges for the boiler to be replaced with either a Band A boiler or renewable heating system

• On completion of the work householder sends proof of installation of new system to the Energy Saving Trust along with a declaration about the boiler that has been replaced, signed by both themselves and the installer

• Energy Saving Trust process payment of the grant

Please note that the scheme applies only in England because of legislation governing the Devolved Administrations.

Roger Webb, HHIC director said: “We are delighted that the government is giving the green light to enable householders to replace an old inefficient boiler with a new energy efficient model and by doing so recognising that a new boiler can really improve energy efficiency. The scheme is good on many levels because householders could see a large reduction in their energy bills, the major carbon savings resulting from replacing inefficient products will help climate change and finally for UK Industry and employment because most boilers installed are actually manufactured in the UK. The sector is made up of about 60, 000 businesses supporting 250,000 employees, so this scheme will be significant to the industry.”

How To Claim

If you believe that your home has a G-rated or worse boiler and wish to register an interest in the scheme to receive a £400 cashback voucher towards the cost of upgrading to an A-rated boiler, then arrange for your nominated installer to visit, provide you with a quote and have the following information to hand

i) Your full name.
ii) The address of the property you wish to claim the voucher for.
iii) The make and name of the boiler being scrapped.
iv) The company name , address and contact details of the installer carrying out the work.
v) The type of replacement boiler to be installed e.g. gas, biomass.
vi)Confirmation that you have received a quote or visit from the installer to carry out the work.

Once you have this information please click here or alternatively call the Energy Saving Trust's ACT ON CO2 advice line on 0800 512 012.