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Boiler Scrappage Scheme
 
What is the boiler scrappage scheme?

The boiler scrappage scheme 2010 will pay qualifying home owners up to £400 to replace their old boilers with new, more efficient ones.

This triple sided scheme is an effort by Chancellor Alistair Darling to promote consumer spending in an effort to drag the economy out of the slump it finds itself in, as well as a PR-exercise to be the green-champions in the run up to the 2010 general elections as well as an effort to get less efficient boilers (read higher co2 emissions emitting boilers) replaced with “cleaner" boilers.

This scheme is in many ways comparable to the car scrappage scheme from 2009 although on a much smaller budget. (£400 million for the car scrappage scheme versus just £50 million for the boiler replacement scheme) The idea is simple: The government needs to stimulate the local economy in an effort to bring the economical recession to an end and tries to do so in small scale economic impulses. Carefully chosen industries are targeted to make consumers spend more money now that the government is unable to finance any large scale economic impulses. Although a mere £50 million is set aside for this boiler scheme (the equivalent of 125.000 households) it is a nice little subsidy from the government in case you were about to replace your boiler anyway.

 

 

Who qualifies for the boiler scrappage scheme?

 

Only households in England with the least efficient and therefore the most poluting boilers, the so called G-rated boilers, are entitled to apply to receive the £400 vouchers the government wants to hand out to remove those most polution boilers if they replace them with A-rated boilers including all LPG boilers and certified biomass boilers. Many people will not know the rating of their boiler but contacting the Energy Savings Trust (EST) should give you an clear answer. As a general guideline you can assume you have a G-rated boiler if your gas fired boiler is more than 15 years old and has a permanent pilot light. An aditional conditon to qualify for the voucher is that your boiler needs to be your main boiler in your house and it needs to be in working order. Unless you are over 60 years old, in which case a broken down G-rated boiler also qualifies. Even landlords who rent out their property privately, and fulfill the above mentioned criteria, could qualify for the scheme. If your boiler is on it's last legs but you don't qualify for the vouchers and are not in the position to fork out for a new boiler, you might want to consider a so called heating cover. For more information on boiler insurance cover comparison, we can refer you to the utilities section of this website.

 

 

How do I apply for the boiler scrappage scheme?

 

Homeowners must first get a quote for the new boiler, this quote MUST including installation costs aswell. People wishing to make use of the boiler scheme can then apply to the Energy Savings Trust, which is administering the scheme, and upon succesful application, a voucher will be posted 1 to 2 weeks later. All vouchers are valid for a period of 12 weeks from the date of issue. If a voucher is not used within those 12 weeks, it will be cancelled automaticaly and a new application needs to be made. The installation of the new boiler needs be done by engineers registered with trade bodies Gas Safe or Oftec. Please keep in mind that home owners need to pay for the new boiler and installation in full (at a costs of around £1200) and then afterwards claim back the £400 subsidy by sending in the voucher and invoice to the Energy Savings Trust. Payment should be made in about 1 months time after reveiving the returned voucher.