The Government has introduced from December 2011 the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme for non-domestic applications: this includes industrial and farm buildings, retail and licensed premises, hotels, B and Bs, Community projects, Nursing Homes etc.
The RHI’s for GSHPs are fixed at 4.5p per kWh (up to 100kW units) or 3.2p per kWh (over 100kW units) used and are index-linked and guaranteed for 20 years.
This does not mean that the Government cannot at any stage reduce or remove these incentives (as they have done with Solar PV Feed-in-Tariffs), so we recommend that you make your application as quickly as possible.
We show below three potential cost-saving examples:
Rural Office Block
| Heat requirement |
Heating 95%, hot water 5% |
| Building size |
500 sq m |
| Current heat source |
Oil |
| Current Cost of heating (pa) |
£7,500 |
| Cost of installing a GSHP |
£37,000 |
| Running cost with a GSHP(pa) |
£3,348 |
| Running cost saving(pa) |
£4,152 |
| RHI Payment |
£4,821 |
| Total annual saving with RHI |
£8,973 |
| Summary Payback (years) |
4.1 |
| Total savings over 20yrs |
£142,464 |
Industrial Unit
| Heat requirement |
Heating 100%, hot water 0% |
| Building size |
3,700 sq m |
| Current heat source |
LPG |
| Current Cost of heating (pa) |
£19,500 |
| Cost of installing a GSHP |
£125,000 |
| Running cost with a GSHP(pa) |
£6,771 |
| Running cost saving(pa) |
£12,729 |
| RHI Payment |
£6,933 |
| Total annual saving with RHI |
£19,663 |
| Summary Payback (years) |
6.4 |
| Total savings over 20yrs |
£268,250 |
Equine Property
| Heat requirement |
Heating 10%, hot water 90% |
| Building size |
- |
| Current heat source |
Electric |
| Current Cost of heating (pa) |
£7,200
|
| Cost of installing a GSHP |
£34,000 |
| Running cost with a GSHP(pa) |
£2,250 |
| Running cost saving(pa) |
£4,950 |
| RHI Payment |
£3,240 |
| Total annual saving with RHI |
£8,190 |
| Summary Payback (years) |
4.2 |
| Total savings over 20yrs |
£129,800 |
