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Published: 04/08/2015

New RHI regulations to come into force in September 2015

At the end of September, the Domestic RHI regulations are being updated to bring them in line with European standards.

The current RHI regulations reference industry standards from the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). This is a key part of the scheme that provides consumer protection by ensuring that both installers and renewable heating installations meet clear standards of competence. These MCS standards are being updated in line with the European Energy-related Productions (ErP) Directive, which will come into force across Europe for all heat pumps manufactured or imported into Europe on 26th September 2015.

The purpose of the ErP is to minimise the environmental impact of heat pumps and improve efficiency. New efficiency labels are being introduced as part of the Directive that will have to show the efficiency of the heat pump. There will be two labels, a product label produced by the heat pump manufacturer and a package label produced by the heat pump installer. More information on the ErP can be found on the Kensa website.

New method for calculating heat pump efficiency

The regulations are also going to bring about a new method for calculating heat pump efficiency. Instead of using the current Heat Emitter Guide to calculate heat pump efficiency, installers and manufacturers will now utilise the Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) calculator.

The calculator will also be used by certification bodies, such as the RHI, to work out if a heat pump meets the requirements of the ErP Directive and to establish the Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) needed for the RHI scheme. It will be necessary to use the SCOP calculator to work our SPF for the Domestic RHI.

The benefit of the SCOP calculator is that it will take into account the performance of different heat pumps. The data will be publically available and will enable consumers to compare the efficiency of different heat pumps and choose the one that best meets their needs.

Will this affect me?

The regulations update is mainly going to affect installers and manufacturers as they will need to comply with them. Consumers will benefit from increasingly more efficient heat pumps. The way the Domestic RHI scheme is administered is not changing, and consumers will still have one year to apply for the Domestic RHI after their new heat pump is installed.

Happy birthday Domestic RHI!

Domestic RHI is now one year old. In its first year there were 30,695 applications that were accredited. 21,217 of these were ‘legacy’ applications, so their renewable heating systems were installed and commissioned before 9th April 2014. Since the inception of the Domestic RHI scheme, £4.9 million has been paid out to owners of air source heat pumps and £7.9 million to ground source heat pump owners (June 2015 Ofgem figures).

MCS heat pumps from the Reina Group

We are MCS accredited installers with over 10 years’ experience designing and installing heat pumps systems throughout the South East. For more information on heat pumps, read our comprehensive guide to heat pumps or contact us.