Government Heating Grants

Heating your home can be expensive, but there are schemes, initiatives and other things you can do that can save you thousands of pounds and improve your energy efficiency.

Warm Front is one such scheme which can literally save you thousands of pounds. It is a government funded initiative which is managed by Eaga. The scheme is designed to support people who may be vulnerable to fuel poverty this includes low income families and the disabled and elderly. It provides a package of insulation and heating improvements which can amount to the value of 6,000 where oil or renewable technologies are recommended. To qualify you must own your own home or rent from a private landlord. You should also receive certain specified benefits as well.

However, even if you do not qualify for a Warm Front grant you can still apply for the Heating Rebate Scheme and receive up to 300. To qualify you must live in an English local authority be over 60 and own your own home. The work carried out must also exceed 300 including VAT.

The Clean Energy Cash Back or Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Scheme was introduced on 1st April 2010 and promises to pay long-term, guaranteed payments to homes and businesses for generating electricity from small-scale renewable electricity systems, such as solar panels and wind turbines. The scheme is intended to give people an incentive to utilise green energy and cut their fuel bills. The money paid to homeowners is also tax free.

For homeowners with a well positioned 2.5kW solar panel this could amount to 900 cash back from the excess electricity they generate but do not use as well as further savings on electricity bills. Similar schemes to FIT have worked well in countries such as Germany for the last 10 years.

The Renewable Heat Incentive is a fixed payment for the renewable heat which is generated by a household and is set to be launched in April 2011. Although it is similar to the Feed-in Tariff initiative there are some significant differences due to the fact that most homes generate heat via oil or gas boilers, unlike electricity there is no National Grid for Heat.

To benefit from The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) you have to install a renewable heating system such as solar thermal panels, heat pumps or a biomass boiler. Once this has been done an estimate is given based on how much heat your system will produce. Based on this estimate a fixed amount is paid. The RHI will be available to everyone including businesses and is designed to incentivise investment into renewable energy.

Everyone can potentially earn money from being more environmentally conscious and investing in renewable energy. Even if you are unsure about how to go about installing a renewable energy system for your electricity and heating needs you can employ the services of an energy consultant for as little as 50. They will usually provide advice and a report on what to install and how you can maximise the effectiveness of a renewable energy system.