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.

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.

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.

The Scottish Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) believes the scheme would be both beneficial to their economy, while contributing to their own energy efficient measures. Together with the FSB, the Scottish Labour Party and ‘Green’ campaigners are calling for a Scottish Boiler Scrappage Scheme.

The Chancellor Darling announced up to £400 grants for c.125,000 households in England and Wales for scrapping and replacing their old and existing G-rated boilers for new energy efficient models.

A spokesman for the FSB was recently quoted; “The ‘greener boiler’ incentive is good news for the environment and the householder but it also has the scope to provide work for local businesses, whether as prime or subcontractors.”

A Scottish Government spokesman has confirmed they are in consultations regarding energy efficiency action plans including an incentive to replace old, inefficient boilers.

The Boiler Scrappage Team would be surprised if Scotland didn’t follow Westminster’s Pre-Budget lead, as there would be a ‘Green’ disconnect within the United Kingdom, which would probably be frowned upon by the rest of Europe.

Furthermore, there is also discussion concerning a retrospective rebate in the event of a homeowner recently replacing their G-rated boiler. The Government could provide a pleasant surprise to homeowners located in England, who have recently ripped-out their old G-rated boiler unit and installed a new energy efficient model. Details are to be announced very shortly.

The Government’s objective is to provide homeowners the opportunity to reduce CO2 emissions and improve the efficiencies of certain domestic appliances. It has been currently estimated 125,000 households are eligible for the Boiler Scrappage Scheme.

The Government has stated in it’s pre-budget report that it intends to officially launch the Boiler Scrappage Scheme at the earliest possible date;
7.36 Installing an efficient heating system can be another cost-effective way to cut household energy bills and carbon emissions, as domestic heating accounts for 13 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions. Replacing an older boiler with the latest efficient models can reduce a household’s energy bill by around £230 a year. The Pre-Budget Report announces a £400 incentive to help up to 125,000 households upgrade their boiler, available to those who buy a new boiler or renewable heat unit to replace a working G-rated boiler. The Government will work with industry to launch the scheme at the earliest opportunity in 2010.

As from Monday 14th December, Npower have said they will offer £400 off a new boiler when homeowners replace one that is more than 10 years old, with the only stipulation being that the new boiler is bought from and installed by Npower. Homeowners do not have to be existing Npower customers to qualify.

The incentive is in addition to that proposed by the Government meaning customers could potentially secure a total of £800 off their new boiler.

The process of the scheme announced by the Government, where households in England will be able to claim up to £400 if they replace their G-rated boiler with an energy-efficient one or with another renewable technology, has yet to be announced.

A Treasury spokesman said: “If the scheme is based on the car scrappage scheme, we hope claiming the incentive would be handled by the retailer“.

The scheme will begin in the new year and will run until the £50m funding has run out.

Full details have yet to emerge about exactly how the scheme will operate, but with an estimated £4.5m boilers in the UK being G rated, it may help to start researching your new boiler now as the £50m put aside by the Government means only 125,000 households can benefit.

The consumer reviews company Which? have a Boilers Buying Guide providing detailed reviews on 53 of the most popular central heating boilers on the market today.

Energy comparison website uSwitch calculates that a modern efficient boiler can save up to £235 a year on heating bills, meaning a new boiler along with the boiler scrappage incentive could soon pay for itself!

Homeowners in England will now be able to claim £400 subsidies for the purchase of new energy efficient boilers through a new, (and much petitioned) Boiler Scrappage Scheme, which was finally announced today by Chancellor Darling in his pre-budget report.

Similar to the car scrappage scheme concept, owners will now be able to trade in their old, inefficient boilers for new efficient models so to achieve a significant performance upgrade to their central heating and hot water system, while saving money on fuel bills.

Specifically, existing boilers rated G or worse will be eligible for the £400 boiler scrappage subsidy. Full details remain in abeyance as the Government once again dithers on the detail. However, gas industry sources are speculating that the actual subsidy claim would be the responsibility of the retailer or supplier – similar to the car scrappage scheme.

Controversially, the £50m Boiler Scrappage Scheme is only applicable to homes located within England and will most probably funded through tax receipts. The scheme is expected to commence early in the new year – (as the cold weather begins to bite!) and run until the £50m funds are used up.

Energy consultants from price comparison website – uSwitch.com, claim typical heating and hot water bills are over £750 per annum, and estimate a new, energy efficient boiler could save a typical homeowner nearly £250 off that bill.

The Boiler Scrappage Scheme provides families and homeowners the opportunity to greatly improve the performance, efficiency and safety of their heating systems during the coldest months of the years.