As we begin 2018, heating oil prices are increasing, and Government support is at its highest ever level. As such, demand for Ground Source Heat Pumps and Air Source Heat Pumps is set to increase. Alto Energy is the UK's exclusive distributor for IVT Heat Pumps, including the IVT Greenline HE: the most popular Ground Source Heat Pump in the UK market.
The Rising Cost of Heating Oil
https://www.valueoils.com/heating-oil-prices/
Fossil fuel prices have been much lower in recent years compared to the heights that were seen around 2010.
However, recent trends have shown that the price of heating oil has been increasing over the past two years, with the threshold of 50p per litre - or £500 per 1000 litres - now broken.
Heat pumps operate using electricity, however for each unit of electricity consumed, over 3 units of heat are delivered. This is possible due to the fact that heat energy is simply being moved from one place (the ground) to another (the home). This is far more efficient than creating heat energy, which is what happens in a traditional combustion boiler. In this case, only 0.75 units of heat are delivered for each unit of fuel consumed.
At these prices, the cost per unit of heat delivered is significantly lower for Ground Source Heat Pumps compared to fossil fuels, as demonstrated in the graph below. This shows that Ground Source Heating is up to 53% cheaper than Heating Oil.
For a typical 4 bedroom house, this represents a saving of over £900 per year
The Generous Renewable Heat Incentive
The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive ("RHI") is a government financial incentive to encourage a switch to renewable heating systems. If you join and comply with the scheme rules, you’ll receive quarterly payments for seven years. It’s a way to help the UK reduce its carbon emissions.
| Technology | RHI Tariff [p/kWh] |
|---|---|
| Ground Source Heat Pump | 19.86 |
| Air Source Heat Pump | 10.18 |
Table showing RHI Tariffs applicable from 01/01/2018 - 31/03/2018
The current tariffs are at the highest level they've ever been, with more paid for each unit of renewable heat created by the heat pump than ever before:
You get paid for each unit of renewable heat generated by your heat pump over a 7 year period, with payouts made quarterly. Once you join the scheme, you are protected from any future reductions in tariff, and in fact the tariffs will increase periodically in line with the Consumer Price Index.
For a typical 4 bedroom house, the RHI generates an annual income of £2,780 per year
MCS Umbrella
Alto Energy is the exclusive UK importer for IVT heat pumps and we offer an MCS Umbrella Scheme on all products that we supply. Under the umbrella scheme, Alto Energy takes responsibility for the design and sizing of the heat pump system, and provides a commissioning and MCS registration service.
MCS is the Microgeneration Certification Scheme, and registration under this scheme is mandatory in order to be able to access the Renewable Heat Incentive. As an MCS accredited company, Alto Energy is fully compliant with the MCS standards, which ensures you benefit from the financial rewards available for installing a heat pump in your property.
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Footnotes
Heating price based on quote obtained on 05/01/2017 for delivery of 1000 litres of Kerosene Heating Oil for delivery to 0X29 0AA on standard delivery from www.valueoils.com. Electricity price based on quote obtained from U-Switchon 05/01/2017 for supply in OX29 0AA by SSE. Heat pump efficiency based on Seasonal Coefficient of Performance of the IVT Greenline HE E11 at a flow temperature of 50C according to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Product Database. Efficiencies of the varying ages of oil boiler based on MCS 031 Heat Pump System Performance Estimate calculator.