In this section we will cover all the schemes that are available to the homeowner and home improver to either subsidies or pay for energy saving or energy generation measures. We include information about how to get the best from your supplier or switch.
You will find the comprehensive guide to renewable energy and energy saving schemes or incentives here, however for more information about how renewable energy systems work or how you might be able to install them yourself please look at our section on Energy Generating Technologies where we go into detail on all energy generation that you can employ in a domestic setting.
For information about other green or eco-friendly DIY home improvement projects, we have a section that covers everything from green roofs to eco friendly decorating with bio-degradable paint brushes!
Summary of Green, Eco and Renewable Energy Schemes in the UK:
There have been a lot of noise over the years about various schemes that successive governments have used to try and stimulate the renewable industry and energy saving practices in our homes.
You will have heard of a lot of them, and we go into much more detail in the projects above, but here is a summary of the key schemes that have and are still running:
Green Deal
This was the big flagship scheme that was supposed to bring all the renewable schemes under one roof. It is still running but is no longer funded by the government. The scheme allows you to “borrow” against your future electricity bill savings so that you can get the energy saving measures that will give you these savings on your bill.
If the measure saves more on your bills, and the cost of installing them (including the interest) they you can get the measure installed under the Green Deal. The idea is that you save energy but it doesn’t cost you anything more than you would be spending anyway.
Feed-in-Tariff (FIT)
This is a scheme that got a huge amount of publicity and really boosted the solar industry until 2012 when the incoming coalition government slashed the rates because they were costing the taxpayer too much. The idea is that any domestic renewable energy generation solution would pay a fee to the owner for the amount of electricity generated.
Originally this was over 40p per unit but now this has tapered to the lower teens for Solar PV.
Different technologies attract different rates; you can see the most up-to-date FIT rates on the Ofgem website.
Renewable Heat Incentive
This is the “FIT for heat generating technologies” such as heat pumps, solar thermal and biomass boilers. It is a little more complex as measuring the heat generated is not as simple as measuring units of electricity generated. However the principle is the same. Like the FIT the scheme is controlled by Ofgem, and you can find the latest tariffs on their website.
These are the “big three” schemes that are currently available, but there are a range of other schemes that are available depending on your circumstances. If you are elderly or on benefits there are schemes to assist with your energy bills or to have extra insulation fitted.
The best way to find out what you are eligible for is to use the government energy grants calculator.
For much more detailed information please see the projects on each energy scheme above.
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