Icy rain since Christmas Day has compounded the already extreme and prolonged winter freeze making conditions hazardous and unpleasant for families.

Nationwide and local gas engineers have once again been inundated with boiler breakdown emergency calls. But unlike last winter, homeowners do not have the luxury of accessing the Boiler Scrappage Scheme so to obtain discounts on the purchase of a new A-rated boiler.

Its Behind You!

But don’t despair, Santa hasn’t forgot you! However, this year you need to be a lot smarter to find the harder deals. Just look behind you and you’ll see that customers will be facing a near 15% increase in VAT on purchases for many goods and services as from 4th January 2011.

This is where websites such as BoilerScrappageScheme.co.uk and CombiBoiler.co.uk take centre stage. Despite the Scrappage Scheme for all home nations finishing earlier this year, the leading nationwide Combi Boiler suppliers including British Gas, EAGA Heat, npower and Swalec are offering winter money saving offers.

BoilerScrappageScheme.co.uk and CombiBoiler.co.uk provide you some of the best online money saving offers, so you can afford a warm, energy efficient home for your family. If you buy before the VAT rise you can ensure you’re not paying the extra VAT charge.

The Math

A big ticket item costing £1,675 plus VAT at 17.5% is £1,968. However, the new VAT rise will increase the purchase price to £2,010.00. Renowned retailers such as House of Fraser and M&S have all launched their Boxing Day sales in a bid to tempt customers with super discount offers prior the VAT increase.

However, this may be an opportune time to upgrade your heating system with a new Combi Boiler and guarantee you keep your family warm this winter. Weather analysts are predicting further freezing periods during the New Year which will inevitably mean homeowners experience more boiler failures. To guarantee you pay the minimum and keep warm this winter, check the later deals at BoilerScrappageScheme.co.uk and CombiBoiler.co.uk.

A Combi Boiler could be the best box to watch this Christmas so keep those mince pies peeled and check out great Combi Boiler deals here before the VAT rise.

Launched under the full titile of the Energy Saving Scotland Private Sector Landlord Boiler Scrappage Scheme, registered private landlords are able to claim £400 towards the cost of replacing existing inefficient boiler to each of their qualifying rental properties with new boilers which are recommended by the Energy Saving Trust (EST).

Installing a more efficient boiler can improve a property’s Energy Performance Certificate ratings, and typically could save a tenant in a three-bed semi-detached house around £225 per year.

Industry experts stated earlier this year during the launch of the Boiler Scrappage Scheme that by installing a new energy efficient A-rated boiler could save property owners over £200 per year in energy bills. It has been estimated that by replacing 5,000 old G-rated boilers with new A-rated boilers is the equivalent of scrapping around 1,700 cars from Scotland’s roads.

Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil MSP stated during his speech at the Scottish Association of Landlords Conference, “With winter setting in it’s a good time to ensure there is a good boiler in a property to keep bills low. This scheme will offset the cost of a new boiler and help landlords make their properties cost-efficient and energy-efficient for tenants.”

Mike Thornton, Director of the Energy Saving Trust in Scotland, also added “The private rented sector is the tenure with the least energy efficient housing. By replacing an inefficient boiler with an Energy Saving Trust Recommended version, landlords can improve the energy efficiency of their rental properties, which will make them more attractive to tenants.”

Landlords can get full details and apply for the scheme at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/landlordsboilerscrappage.

How to qualify

In order to qualify for the scheme, applicants must replace an existing working boiler (with a SAP2005 efficiency rating of 70% or worse) with an Energy Saving Trust recommended boiler (or alternatively via a Microgeneration Certification Scheme accredited microgeneration technology).

You must also be a registered private sector landlord. Eligible landlords can apply for multiple vouchers, however only 1 voucher can be used per boiler and per installation address.

Landlords Beware!

The new fund is a limited scheme, so its first come, first served. So be quick!

From April 1st 2010 British Gas are offering a £200 discount off a new boiler plus one year’s free HomeCare 200 boiler insurance worth £204. Purchases made prior to 30th May 2010 will also be offered interest free credit for a year.

Recently published figures from the Energy Savings Trust (EST) showed that as of 16th March 2010, 118,785 Government vouchers had been allocated with 35,390 A-rated boilers being installed. Since then the full allocation of vouchers has been taken up by homeowners.

However, whilst the Government’s discount is no longer available, energy firms are still offering their own incentives on new boilers.

Boiler Scrappage Schemes for Wales and Scotland are also about to get going, with the Welsh scheme to start on the April 6th 2010 by offering a £500 discount,whilst the Scottish Government has pledged £2m towards Boiler Scrappage Schemes through its Energy Assistance Package scheme.

125,000 households have taken advantage of the scheme, which offered homeowners a £400 discount off the cost of a new A-rated boiler when they traded in the old G-rated one.

Energy minister Lord Hunt said: “The scheme’s been a great success and is already helping people cut down on their fuel bills. An ‘A-rated’ energy efficient boiler can help save around £200 a year off fuel bills and reduce emissions. 

“The scheme has also provided a much needed boost to England’s plumbers and boiler manufacturers, helping to sustain work for the 130,000 installers and up to 25 UK-based boiler manufacturers throughout the economic recovery.”

Environment, sustainability and housing minister Jane Davidson said that the scheme will come into force on April 1st 2010, with £2.5m allocated to the scheme allowing up to 5,000 homes to benefit.

The scheme will reward households with a £500 voucher towards the cost of a new A-rated boiler when they replace their old G-Rated one. The switch can also save households up to £235 a year in energy costs as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Consumer watchdogs have claimed that the scheme would not help the long term sick, young families and the disabled, but Ms Davidson also announced “an additional £1.4 million to tackle fuel poverty through our Home Energy Efficiency Scheme during the next financial year.

“This additional funding underlines the Assembly Government’s ongoing commitment to tackling fuel poverty and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Wales.”

Vale of Clwyd Labour AM Ann Jones said: “This boiler scrappage scheme will save hundreds of pounds for many householders who are currently suffering from fuel poverty.”

Some 54,758 vouchers which give households a £400 discount off a new A-Rated boiler when they trade in their old G-Rated boiler have been claimed, with approximately 70,000 still available.

The scheme has been made even more attractive by some larger energy companies such as British Gas offering an addition £400 cut on top of that given by the Government. 

The EST has said they have so far received c.400,000 calls about the scheme meaning a take up rate of 14%. The South East and North West have been the biggest take-up with 9,387 and 8,186 respectively.

However, with potentially 3.5m households eligible for the scheme and over 100,000 plumbing and heating engineers in the UK, the Association of Plumbing and Heating have said the scheme “fell short” of helping those in the industry.

So far there has been no hint that the boiler scrappage scheme will be extended, and with the number of vouchers available tumbling and savings of over £200 per year to be made by switching to an A-Rated boiler, it’s advisable to move quickly if you plan on taking advantage of the scheme.

Pressure had been on the Scottish Government for some time to introduce a similar scrappage scheme to the one which has run so successfully in England since the beginning of 2010. Yesterday’s announcement marks a victory for boiler scrappage campaigners, who have included small businesses and opposition politicians.

Whilst the finer details of the scheme are yet to be made available, Salmond has promised that the Scottish Government is committing in full the £2 million Barnett ‘consequentials’ received as a result of UK Government expenditure on its boiler scrappage scheme.

The scheme forms part of the Scottish Energy Efficiency Action Plan which is due to be published in the spring. If the scheme follows the format of the one in place in England then up to 5,000 households could receive a £400 discount towards the cost of a new A-Rated boiler when scrapping their existing G-Rated boiler, providing it is in working order.

The Boiler Scrappage Scheme which is already running in England and is being administered by the Energy Savings Trust has had over 200,000 enquiries since its launch in January.

Chair of the Stormont Social Development Committee, Simon Hamilton has asked for serious consideration to be given to the introduction of a Boiler Scrappage Scheme, noting that as well as improving energy efficiency, such an incentive would provide an economic stimulus for both local manufacturers and installers of boilers and renewable heating systems.

At present the Boiler Scrappage Scheme in England has not been extended to any of the devolved regions, but following similar recent calls from both the Welsh and Scottish assemblies, Northern Ireland is now asking for such a scheme to be introduced.

Hamilton said that based on the clear advantages the scheme will bring for England, it is essential that the introduction of a similar scheme in Northern Ireland is given careful consideration. 

The Social Development Committee has already raised the issue with a motion being tabled for debate in the Assembly to examine the scope for the introduction of a similar scheme at some future stage.

Support for a Boiler Scrappage Scheme from the devolved assemblies can be registered at the following petition site: http://reheatbritain.org.uk/

The £400 vouchers should be received approximately 10 days after receipt of your application to the EST. The vouchers are valid for 12 weeks from the date of issue and are to be redeemed against a new boiler from a manufacturer of an A-rated gas, oil or LPG units, or alternatively boilers with a Passive Flue Heat Recovery Device, Micro CHP units or Microgeneration Certification Scheme-registered biomass boilers and heat pumps. Solar Thermal is also eligible if combined with an eligible boiler replacement. Electric boilers are NOT eligible.

Once you’ve received your voucher, you will need to contact your gas installer to arrange a date for installation. Please note you cannot claim the £400 discount until the boiler installation work has been completed and payment has been made in full to the installer!

To claim the £400 discount, send the voucher together with the gas installation invoice to the Energy Savings Trust – AFTER you have paid in full for the new boiler and installation work. Payment will then be issued within 25 working days from receipt of both of these items.

If the voucher is not redeemed within the 12 week period, the EST will cancel the voucher and reallocate the funding to a new applicant.

Wales is set to receive £4.07m of funding from the Treasury and it will be up to the Welsh Assembly Cabinet (WAG) as to how this money is allocated.

The Boiler Scrappage Scheme announced by the Chancellor Alistair Darling back in December was only for England, but Mrs Davidson said that the Welsh Assembly Government “is considering introducing a similar scheme in Wales, and we are currently working up a series of proposals taking into consideration the impact on those in fuel poverty, the relative carbon savings and value for money.”

Davidson did add: “If a boiler scrappage scheme is introduced to Wales, there is likely to be more emphasis on targeting fuel poor households.”

Conservative AM Alun Cairns however criticised the Welsh Assembly Cabinet for dragging its feet on the issue, claiming that: “By not adopting the English scheme the Assembly Government risks additional administrative and advertising costs, as well as confusing Welsh householders.”

Moving north of the border, communities Minister Alex Neil insisted last week that the Scottish Government had not ruled out introducing their own boiler scrappage scheme.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) confirmed the scheme had prompted 72,000 telephone calls to the EST in just the first 5 days since the scheme kicked off, as those looking to benefit moved swiftly to ensure they are one of the estimated 125,000 who could benefit from the £400 Government discount.

The EST in turn admitted the huge level of interest could result in funding reaching its limit by March. A spokesperson for the DECC said: “The scheme’s been very popular. We’re very happy with the take up. There are vouchers available and people should apply for the scheme”.

Boilerscrappagescheme.co.uk have also been inundated with enquiries from homeowners and gas engineers. The Boiler Scrappage Team have suggested one of the most effective and economic methods of making homeowners aware of gas fitting services is for approved gas engineers to create google ads, which can be quickly viewed by homeowners searching for approved gas fitters.

The Boiler Scrappage Scheme also announced “The sign-up by a large nationwide gas installer to Boilerscrappagescheme.co.uk is imminent. Once this is confirmed, visitors will not only have a SEDUK database for determining whether their existing boiler qualifies but also have direct access to approved gas fitters with excellent geographic coverage.”

Homeowners are currently finding the up-to-date Google Ads to be a very useful source for gas fitters and boiler information.