Air Source Heat Pump Grants Scotland
Heat Pumps have become one of the most popular options in Scotland for providing the home with renewable energy.
Heat Pumps are popular for many reasons. They’re great for cutting down carbon emissions, since they require only a small amount of electricity to operate and instead of burning fuel or converting energy, simply move warm air into your home. They don’t require much maintenance – especially when compared with boilers, and thirdly, they’re excellent for cutting down costly heating and energy bills.
But a lot of people are interested in knowing about the Grants and Financial Assistance available for Heat Pumps. There’s currently a range of different options available. In this article we’ll detail what they are and who’s eligible for them.
The Renewable Heat Incentive
The Renewable Heat Incentive, while not a proper grant, is still an important financial incentive concerning heat pumps (and renewable heating in general). It’s by far the most significant financial incentive in the UK for renewable heating.
The RHI was set up in 2014 as part of the government’s effort to reduce greenhouse gasses. It’s a reward scheme which provides payments to people with a renewable system. This includes Air Source Heat Pumps if they are Air to Water style Pumps. Systems eligible for the RHI include,
- Ground to Water Heat pumps
- Air to Water Heat Pumps
- Biomass Boilers and Pellet Stoves
- Solar Panels (when used for hot water)
Air to Air style pumps isn’t eligible; they do not provide hot water and are used alongside a boiler.
The RHI works by providing quarterly payments to owners of renewable heating systems – including Air Source Heat Pumps. The payment size depends on a range of factors, including the size of your home, the renewable energy generated, and the kind of system you are replacing. Payments can range from anywhere between £500 and £2,900 – with the UK government providing a helpful calculator for estimating the amount you’ll end up receiving.
The RHI isn’t a grant as the payments come after you’ve purchased and installed the system, but at the same time it’s a major asset and a great way to reimburse the costs of the initial installation. RHI requires you to install a Microgeneration Certification Scheme certified product.
This requirement means it’s very important to ALWAYS make use of a MCS certified business and product, since otherwise you’ll be unable to gain access to RHI.
Up Front Grants and Loans
While RHI can provide money back over time, it isn’t an upfront loan. However, Scottish installers of Air Source Heat Pumps can access a range of grants, loans, and other options to help finance their installation. We’ll go through some of the bigger options available to those interested in Heat Pumps.
Assignment of Rights
One option is the Assignment of Rights (AoR). This can help you with funding before the homeowner has the heat pump installed. It allows you to assign the rights of the homer owners Heat Source Pump to an investor, who can help fund the heat pump purchase. They will receive the RHI payments instead of the homeowner, in this case.
Even though you won’t receive the payments, the homeowner still benefits significantly from the huge overall savings.
This isn’t the only option available. There are some other avenues which can be taken to finance an Air Source Heat Pump.
Home Energy Scotland Loan
Another option is the Home Energy Scotland Loan, available to Homeowners in Scotland. This is an interest free loan from the Scottish government and can offer up to £10,000 (interest free) for an Air Source Heat Pump system. This will cover a significant chunk of the cost of installing a system. The Home Energy Loan is available to both homeowners and private landlords in Scotland.
It’s furthermore possible in some cases to combine the Loan with other loans and schemes. However, you should always make sure to check if this is possible before making multiple applications. This can make installing and investing in an Air Source Heat Pump relatively easy overall.
Warmer Homes Scotland Scheme
The Warmer Homes Scotland Scheme is aimed at people who are either in low-income households or ae classed as vulnerable, and who are struggling to heat their home. Depending on the kind of improvements that will be carried out, the government will either cover the costs or provide an interest free loan.
To be eligible someone must either be a homeowner or tenants of a private sector landlord, live in the home as their main residence and lived within it for 12 months. The home must have an energy rating of 67 (or lower), and they cannot have received previous assistance from the scheme in the last 5 years.