FAQs

The government has suggested they should be included in Phase 2 from 2012.

Chapter 4 of the government’s RHI announcement says

Direct air heating

Technologies which deliver renewable heat directly through hot/warm air will not be supported in the RHI from the outset. This means technologies such as ground or water source to air heat pumps; biomass kilns; furnaces; ovens and air heaters will not be able to claim the RHI. We will, however, look at whether and how these technologies could be included in the RHI from 2012.

There are a number of reasons for not including these technologies from the start of the scheme, which are primarily practical. Our methodology is to meter the heat generated and pay the RHI on that basis, however, there are practical difficulties with metering direct air heating, rather than water and steam. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence of the costs of these technologies on which to base the RHI tariffs. Given they could be installed in significant numbers, we need to gather further evidence about the costs and operation of direct air heating equipment in order that we can set the correct tariff. Finally, we need to ensure we have the right strategy for supporting air to air source heat pumps specifically given that a large number are installed already for cooling (air conditioning) purposes.