You may have heard about the new grant for an air source heat pump to be installed in your home. It is part of the government’s drive to reduce carbon emissions and ensure that low carbon heating methods, such as heat pumps, are no more expensive than less efficient methods in the future.
There are a number of ways to get an air source heat pump grant in 2022, and this article will let you know how. We’ll look at previous grants and incentives, those that are currently available and the proposed new grant for an air source heat pump that you might be able to get your hands on in April.
Green Homes Grant
The Green Homes Grant provided vouchers towards certain home improvements that contributed towards energy efficiency. These included adding different types of insulation, measures aimed at excluding draughts, heating controls and low carbon heating, such as heat pumps and biomass boilers. In general, you could use this grant to cover two-thirds of the cost of the improvements, up to £5,000. However, recipients of some benefits could claim 100% of the cost, up to £10,000.
Although applications closed for the Green Homes Grant on the 31st March 2021, claims made before that date were still being processed and you can still use the vouchers from the grant for an air source heat pump or any other eligible improvement up until its expiry date.
Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive
The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive runs until the 31st March 2022. It does not provide a grant to install a renewable heat source, but it does ensure quarterly payments for seven years for owners of homes that use a variety of efficient technologies. You can only apply once the technology is installed, and the payments you receive depend on the amount of renewable energy that it generates.
Technologies eligible for the domestic RHI include wood fuelled boilers, solar thermal panels, and ground to water and air to water heat pumps. It does not support air to air heat pumps.
If you have already installed one of the eligible technologies, you might still be able to get your application in and verified in time for the deadline.
The New Grant For an Air Source Heat Pump
In October 2021, the UK government announced that households in England and Wales would be able to apply for a new grant for an air source heat pump or other low carbon heat pump from April 2022.
There is not too much known about the finer details at the moment, but it is thought there will be 30,000 grants of £5,000 available for the next three years. It will be open to homeowners, public landlords and private landlords, but not to new build homes or social housing.
It could be that applicants hoping to install ground source heat pumps receive £6,000 in recognition of the greater expense that will be incurred for their heat source.
When the grant comes into availability, you will have to talk to your heat pump installer, such as Clever Energy Boilers, and we will apply to Ofgem on your behalf. Ofgem will pay the grant to us and we will take it off the bill for your new heat pump installation.
If you are interested, we can provide a quote right now for your new heat pump, and then we will be ready to apply for your grant right away when the scheme opens. Call us on 0330 055 2210 to find out more.
