Air Source Heat Pumps and RHI

Berneray · Dec 17, 2013

Evening folks....

We don't install ASHP. So looking for some advice.

Does a property need to be a Band D to qualify for RHI in the same way as FITs.

I was surveying a property today for a pv system Old stone built 1905 house off mains gas grid. Sent their by their son whom we installed a pv system last year.

They were talked into installing an ASHP a couple of months back. They have been told they will get an annual RHO payment of approx £5000 per year for seven years.

The couple showed me the EPC they had carried out prior to installing the ASHP. Its a Band F.

Now from my limited knowledge of EPCs I think an ASHP actually decreased the score.

But they have been told by the company that after installing the ASHP and some LEDs then it will get an Band D rating.

Any info gratefully received.

MCS Renewables · Dec 17, 2013

No you need a Green deal assessment which includes a new EPC (usually) to enable you to claim the RHI / RHPP. After the project is completed.

The figure of £5000 a year for seven years is very wrong , maybe a typo, as the agreed price is 7.3 pence per kW hour.

You need a full set of heat loss calculations before you even consider a heat pump installation . You need to get a star rating for the emitters and the heat pump must have a COP above 2.5 with a flow temperature below 50 degrees (I think!) to qualify for the RHI. Heat loss calcs cost around £400 or lots of man hours ..your choice.

You can get someone to run a draft EPC and then add the heat pump and LEDs to see what the improvement in score is , we do this every time, without uploading the actual document.
IMO the improvement in score from F to B with only an ASHP and LEDs seems very unlikely however I am an electrician that does EPCs for our own projects and EPCs are not my area of expertise.

jason121 · Dec 17, 2013

Its SPF not COP and you can run a heat pump at 50 which equals an SPF 2.5.

jason121 · Dec 17, 2013

Calculations don't take very long but measuring the rooms does to size the emitters.
The GDA will alter the heat load done by the installer based on the SPF.

Berneray · Dec 17, 2013

MCS Renewables said:
No you need a Green deal assessment which includes a new EPC (usually) to enable you to claim the RHI / RHPP. After the project is completed.

The figure of £5000 a year for seven years is very wrong , maybe a typo, as the agreed price is 7.3 pence per kW hour.

You need a full set of heat loss calculations before you even consider a heat pump installation . You need to get a star rating for the emitters and the heat pump must have a COP above 2.5 with a flow temperature below 50 degrees (I think!) to qualify for the RHI. Heat loss calcs cost around £400 or lots of man hours ..your choice.

You can get someone to run a draft EPC and then add the heat pump and LEDs to see what the improvement in score is , we do this every time, without uploading the actual document.
IMO the improvement in score from F to B with only an ASHP and LEDs seems very unlikely however I am an electrician that does EPCs for our own projects and EPCs are not my area of expertise.

Thanks for you advice MCS. Its very much appreciated. Its not an area we intend to move into.

I did not like to say too much while there. From your experience do you think it would get to a D with the ASHP and LEds.

MCS Renewables · Dec 17, 2013

The COP and SPF are effectively the same thing.
( HSPF - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Unlikely in my opinion to get from F to D with just ASHP and a LEDs.

You can find if the property has an EPC here : https://www.epcregister.com

If it has an existing EPC you could phone the assessor named on the actual Document and ask him what he thinks.
He has all the property sizes, volumes, insulation info etc etc

jason121 · Dec 17, 2013

For an installation to be eligible it willhave to have a seasonal performance factor (SPF) of 2.5 or above. This figureis the heat pump’s average output over a heating season. This will be workedout by the installer as part of the MCS process by using the heat emitterguide. This will give the installation a star rating for different temperaturesof the flow. Customers will receive payments for when the temperature of theflow has a star rating of 2.5 and above. To receive payments on air source heatpumps the flow temperature also needs to be below 50C. Applicants for RHI willalso need a green deal assessment and a minimum of 250mm of loft insulation.Both the installation and the installer will have to be MCS registered.Existing installs will have to register with MCS within a year of RHI startingto qualify.
Payments for RHI will be paid on aquarterly basis over 7 years. However the payments will be based on 20 years ofuse. This is to stop complications if people need to move house. On mostsystems payments will be based on estimated heat demand and hot water of theproperty from the energy performance certificate (EPC). Customers will not bepaid for exact kwh but for their estimated use based on the size andspecification of their house. The exceptions to this are hybrid systems whichwill have to be metered as it is harder to estimate how much kwhs are being producedby the heat pump alone.
Customers with an air source heat pumpwill receive 7.3p p/kwh. This means that an average 3 bedroom semi-detachedhouse would receive around £500 a year and a bigger detached house would getaround £800 a year. If the customer add solar thermal to this system they canreceive an extra 19.2p/kwh when the weather is right for solar to be effective.

Mattty · Dec 25, 2013

As the RHI payment is based on the heat demand stated on the EPC (last page) and if the client is installing purely based on the amount they will receive for the RHI. It is important that the Green Deal assessment with EPC is done before the install. We have seen situations where the predicted RHI income from the installer has been much higher than what the EPC states. Resulting in disappointed clients.

We are also suggesting that people make sure they have at least 250mm loft insulation and any cavity walls insulated before the EPC is done or a new EPC would have to be produced later showing the insulations levels are at the required minimum standard.