Read on for an important announcement was made by the Scottish Government on Friday 2nd July regarding the Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants scheme

Latest News on the Energy Saving Scotland Home Loan Scheme!

23/06/10
Latest News!

The Scottish Government and Energy Saving Trust have closed the domestic loans scheme; therefore loans for homeowners installing renewable energy are no longer available as applications received after the 16th of June 2010 onwards will not be accepted.  However, any applications received on the 16th of June or before will be processed and households living in a Home Insulation Scheme Area will be unaffected by the closure as the loans programme for the HIS areas is resourced separately.   

The domestic loans scheme was pilot project has been extremely successful in determining Scottish householders’ interest in renewables and there are plans for the Scottish Government and the Energy Saving Trust to examine and assess the outcomes of the scheme and look into a long term programme for the future.


18/03/2010

Ecoliving has just learned of the following changes today Thursday 18^th March 2010

- The Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grant scheme has now closed for electricity generating technologies (solar photovoltaic (PV), wind turbines, and small scale hydro turbines) and for new build properties.

- The Energy Saving Scotland home loan scheme has adjusted the maximum loan value for electricity generating technologies from £10,000 to £4,000.

Why the grant scheme is evolving?

Energy Saving Scotland home renewables grants and home loans have existed to support households to adopt renewable technologies. The aim of the schemes has been to stimulate the market. They have been successful in this regard and the recent changes to the schemes reflect this. The changes also reflect the introduction of Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) which offer an alternative to grant support.

The Scottish Government have worked closely with the UK Government on development of the Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) – also known as Clean Energy Cashback - for electricity technologies. From 1st April FITs will offer significant financial support for electricity generating technologies until 2020 through a guaranteed payment for all renewable electricity generated and supplied to the grid.

The Scottish Government prefers to target funding where it will make the biggest impact and where other support schemes such as FITs don’t operate. Therefore home renewables grants will remain open to heat generating technologies in existing properties only.

Does any other support beside FITs now exist for electricity generating technologies?

Yes, interest free home loans will remain in place for electricity generating technologies. Loan funding levels for these technologies have been adjusted to £4,000 to ensure the maximum number of households can access the loans and help manage overall loan funding availability.

What happens if I have already submitted an application for a loan or grant?

If you have already submitted a grant or loan application form but do not yet have an offer you will hear from us shortly with regards the changes to the schemes. In some cases the changes may have affected the financial support you are eligible for.

If you have already received a grant or loan offer then your offer is unaffected by these changes and will still be valid in line with the terms and conditions as specified in your offer documentation.

If you require any more information about these changes please contact your local Energy Saving Scotland advice centre on 0800 512 012 or visit online.

Ecoliving will be exhibiting at the Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show at the SECC in Glasgow on the 15th and 16th of May 2010. Come along and see us!

Ecoliving will once again be part of Scotland's largest self-build, renovation and home improvement show!  Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show, SECC Glasgow, 15 - 16 May 2010.

The Scottish Homebuilding & Renovating Show is the ideal place to get in touch with Scotland's self-build experts, and the best way to source all the products, services and advice you need whether you're building your own home, renovating or carrying out home improvements.

The 2009 show took place on 16 - 17 May 2009. Visitors flocked over both days of the show to see the latest products and services to build, renovate or improve their home.

Don't forget ... Bring copies of your house plans or details of your renovation or plot to the show to make the most out of your visit.

Click here for free tickets!

 

Ecoliving welcomes the announcement by the Scottish Government that up to 5,000 householders in Scotland can now receive up to £400 towards the cost of a new boiler and potentially save 5000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year! ...

Ecoliving welcomes the announcement by the Scottish Government that in addition to 125,000 householders in England already being eligible for £400 towards the cost of a new boiler, up to 5,000 householders in Scotland can now receive the same.  Replacing 5,000 boilers in Scotland will save around 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of heating 1300 Scottish homes for a year.

The UK Government announced at the beginning of 2010 that up to 125,000 householders in England may be eligible for £400 towards upgrading their boiler in addition to Energy Savings Trust and Low Carbon Building Programme grants currently available.  This month, the Scottish Government announced that Scotland will not be excluded from this as up to 5,000 householders in Scotland will receive £400 towards the cost of a new boiler, under a new boiler scrappage scheme.  Indeed people with boilers that convert less than 70 per cent of fuel into heat will be able to benefit by receiving money for an upgrade and can potentially reduce fuel bills by approximately £190 a year.

The scheme comes into effect from the 24^th of May 2010 when householders can claim vouchers and is expected to save around 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year - the equivalent to taking 1,700 cars off Scotland's roads, heating the water for 7 million baths or heating 1,300 Scottish homes for a year.  

Vouchers will be issued by the Energy Saving Scotland advice network on a first come first served basis.  Individuals can apply by calling the network on 0800 512 012 going to the Energy Saving Trust website.

The Government is proposing the introduction of a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in April 2011, an initiative which will provide the necessary financial support to increase significantly the level of renewable heat generation. ...

RENEWABLE HEAT INCENTIVE (RHI)

The Government is proposing introduction of a Renewable Heat Incentive, an initiative which will provide the necessary financial support to increase significantly the level of renewable heat generation.  The RHI is due to commence in April 2011.  It is currently at consultation stage but some of the key points of the Incentive’s proposals are:

·         Makes payments for every kilowatt-hour of renewable heat you produce, in other words a “clean energy cash back”.

·         Available for individuals, community groups and businesses in England, Scotland and Wales. 

·         Supports range of technologies, including air, water and ground-source heat pumps, solar thermal, biomass boilers, and renewable combined heat and power.

·         RHI payments to be claimed by, and paid to, the owner of the equipment.

·         Both installers and equipment to be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) or equivalent standard.

·         Payments paid over a number of years; annually for installations below 45kW and quarterly for those above this level, and always subject to conditions such as continuing to operate and maintain the equipment.

·         Tariff levels have been calculated to bridge the gap between the cost of conventional and renewable heat systems at all scales, with additional compensation for certain technologies for an element of the non-financial cost (eg the inconvenience of digging up a garden to install a ground-source heat pump).

·         Tariff levels are proposed to provide a rate of return of 12% on the additional capital cost of renewable, with a lower rate of return of 6% given to solar thermal.

·         Payments to be calculated on the annual amount of heat output, expressed in kWh.

·         Eligible installations completed after 15 July 2009 but before the start of the RHI will be allowed to benefit from the scheme.

·         At domestic level, Government grants received before the start of the RHI will not be required to be paid back to receive RHI support.  At larger project level central Government grants may require to be paid back in order for the project to be eligible.

As an example, a property with a net energy demand of 30,000kWh/year (of which 5,000kWh is hot water) has a ground source heat pump delivering energy of 29,700kWh would receive RHI calculated as:  

             29,700 kWh x 7p = about £2079.00 per year for 23 years

Say the property was to have 60% hot water supplied by solar thermal panels (3,000kWh) and the remainder provided by the heat pump the calculation would be as follows:

            3,000 kWh x 18p = around £540 per year for 20 years
            26,700 kWh x 7p = around £1869 per year for 23 years

Then the RHI would be paid as £2409 per year for 20 years and a further 3 years payments of £1869.

The RHI is under consultation and these figures are subject to change prior to the scheme starting in April 2011 

Renewable Heat Incentives
Eligible Technologies & Proposed Tariff Levels

Energy Source	Scale	Tariffs (pence/kWh)	Duration (years)
Small installations
Solid Biomass	Up to 45kW	9	15
Biodiesel	Up to 45kW	6.5	15
Biogas on-site combustion	Up to 45kW	5.5	10
Ground source heat pumps	Up to 45kW	7	23
Air source heat pumps	Up to 45kW	7.5	18
Solar thermal	Up to 45kW	18	20
Medium installations
Solid Biomass	45kW-500kW	6.5	15
Biogas on-site combustion	45kW-200kW	5.5	10
Ground source heat pumps	45kW-350kW	5.5	20
Air source heat pumps	45kW-350kW	2	20
Solar thermal	20kW-100kW	17	20
Large installations
Solid Biomass	500kW and above	1.6-2.5	15
Ground source heat pumps	350kW and above	1.5	20
Biomethane injection	All scales	4	15

Following an extensive exercise by BRE Global, which included visits to the factory in Sweden, the new generation of NIBE heat pumps now has Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation.

NIBE New Generation Heat Pumps Now MCS Accredited

Following an extensive exercise by BRE Global, which included visits to the factory in Sweden, the new generation of NIBE heat pumps now has Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation. This includes the new F1145 and F1245 ground source heat pumps and the F2015 outdoor air heat pumps as well as the first of the new generation exhaust air heat pumps, the F205P (replacement for the Fighter 200P).

Please see the attached Certificate of Approval with the individual product reference numbers. These are required by customers applying for grant funding.
Accreditation Numbers.pdf

The following NIBE New Generation heat pump products now being available :

NIBE F205P exhaust air heat pump
F205P.pdf

NIBE F1145 ground source heat pump
F1145.pdf

NIBE F1245 ground source heat pump
F1245.pdf

NIBE F2015 outdoor air source heat pump
F2015.pdf

NIBE VPB 200 accumulator tank
NIBE VPB 300 accumulator tank (available from June 2010)
VPB 200-300.pdf

NIBE FLM heat recovery ventilation module
NIBE FLM.PDF

Do remember that even if you aren't an MCS accredited installer your customers can still apply for grant funding through Ecoliving's own accreditation. Please contact us for full details