Biomass Boilers

[slasherscot]

rhi domestic grant its all explain in this Renewable Heat Incentive

[aspenarb]

I know of 2 places that are running the farm 2000 boilers, they have them in sheds away from the house and only have to load them 2 times a week. They will burn massive lumps of timber that take two people to lift in.

 

http://www.farm2000.co.uk/farm2000.co.uk/F2000_Batch_files/ECONOMY%20BROCHURE%200711.pdf

 

Bob

[slasherscot]

I know of 2 places that are running the farm 2000 boilers, they have them in sheds away from the house and only have to load them 2 times a week. They will burn massive lumps of timber that take two people to lift in.

 

http://www.farm2000.co.uk/farm2000.co.uk/F2000_Batch_files/ECONOMY%20BROCHURE%200711.pdf

 

Bob

 

to qualify for the rhi grants the boilers have to be on their list and have the fitters also.

Always a catch

[eggsarascal]

I will look at the links in the morning, when I ain't had a drink. Roughly what size boiler (I mean it's physical dimensions) would I need for a four bedroom, two bathroom Bungalow?

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Can you explain to me (in lay mans terms) how the RHI works, we are going to be putting an extension on our bungalow next year and was wandering if it would be worth installing a biomass boiler.

 

We did an extension 2011. We had to replace the (almost) 30 year old oil boiler so went for biomass (pellets) because that worked best for our situation. Looked at log boilers but they do need a bit more on site attention on a daily basis where as a pellet boiler can be left for weeks without any physical intervention.

 

I did a lot of research and got well clued up on the whole deal. I'm still a keen advocate but am seriously disenfranchised from any DECC (and installer / manufacturer associated BS based on fictional DECC promises that will help them paint a glowing picture of the paybacks available and gain sales - why? Because that line was around almost 3 years ago and it still hasn't materialised.)

 

If you can, ensure as much of the building work you are doing is directly associated with the boiler installation, with a bit of thought and planning, you might be able to bring VAT down from 20 to 5% for more of your build than you might have expected.

 

Really happy to have a yarn on the phone if you want to hear our experience?? PM me I'll send my number over if you want to.

[eggsarascal]

We did an extension 2011. We had to replace the (almost) 30 year old oil boiler so went for biomass (pellets) because that worked best for our situation. Looked at log boilers but they do need a bit more on site attention on a daily basis where as a pellet boiler can be left for weeks without any physical intervention.

 

I did a lot of research and got well clued up on the whole deal. I'm still a keen advocate but am seriously disenfranchised from any DECC (and installer / manufacturer associated BS based on fictional DECC promises that will help them paint a glowing picture of the paybacks available and gain sales - why? Because that line was around almost 3 years ago and it still hasn't materialised.)

 

If you can, ensure as much of the building work you are doing is directly associated with the boiler installation, with a bit of thought and planning, you might be able to bring VAT down from 20 to 5% for more of your build than you might have expected.

 

Really happy to have a yarn on the phone if you want to hear our experience?? PM me I'll send my number over if you want to.

 

Pm on its way Kev.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Hope you don't mind, and come back if you disagree, but I just wanted to amplify a couple of the points you've made (from personal experience.)

 

VAT (possibly including any additional building or installation costs depending upon how the project is delivered should be 5% rather than 20% as its associated with a so-called renewable technology - anyone considering an instal should make sure they check this properly for themselves so that the installer isn't creaming the difference)

 

Your phrase - "soon to be released RHI grants", the grants have been available for >2 yrs. Are you alluding to the (domestic) Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) which DECC have been prevaricating over for the past 3 years and is likely to be rolled out when monkeys fly out of my ass?

 

And when (if) they do roll it out, the RHPP is likely to be graded according to the energy efficiency of your house so cavity wall insulation, double glazing, loft insulation etc will all equate to qualification on a higher tier of payment. Conversely, the absence of any of these will drop you a level - similar to the current solar PV qualifying levels. Also, the original DECC commitment to 20 years of qualifying payments has been slashed too. Can't remember what the current (empty) promise is at the moment but the usual BS is available on DECC's website. It's a fairly bold claim to state 3-7k RHPP p/a either way!

 

You mention that "some manufacturers" recommend against an accumulator. That's a really strange comment which would warrant some clarification. Without an accumulator how are you storing heat for when the radiators draw down? Can't tell from your post if you are in favour of accumulator or not? From my experience, I wish I'd had a bigger thermal store and may well retro-fit more capacity when time permits.

 

Soz!

 

I went wrong there! RHPP was that grant payable on qualifying installation. RHI is the (fictional) future payment.

 

Got all over excited!

[slasherscot]

rhpp is going to be phased out and the rhi will take over as far I can phantom it out

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

RHI was rolled out 2 years ago (for commercial installations) and was supposed to be followed immediately by the "domestic" roll out. The domestic roll out has been deferred, depleted and diminished with every subsequent DECC press release. It is STILL subject to parliamentary approval even in its current significantly diminished proposed format. I have totally lost faith in the will, competence, desire or ability of DECC to deliver this policy since I have watched it being systematically watered down over the past 3 years. I would caution anyone basing their installation and through life costings on the figures from DECC (and trotted out by installers / suppliers) to be vary wary of this element of "pay-back" on the investment.

[st135r]

Hi Kevinjohnsonmbe

 

Thanks for some good points you've raised.

 

VAT certainly is 5% on installation of biomass and renewable systems. This will include any building work related to the install. Absolutely people should be aware of this as there is a big difference between 5 and 20 % of thousands of pounds.

 

I've just seen your correction of RHPP to RHI and yes the government initially were going to launch April 2011 but have been dragging their feet. Until it actually happens, there can be no certainties. The latest is that it will run for 7 years rather than the 20 which was an earlier indication, and introducing a teired approach is very unlikely, houses will need to reach a certain level under a green deal assessment but to be honest it isn't too difficult. £3k is the annual payment based on 25000kwh produced and 12.2p per kwh being paid. It's not really a bold claim, just maths based on the information given.

 

Some manufacturers will say they can work without an accumulator if the boiler is sized accurately and there is no store of heat, I would imagine you would need a heat leak radiator which would at least match the output of the boiler when in slumber. You are right, I think this is wrong as the boiler will be in slumber mode too often and efficiency will dramatically reduce. By far the best method is as big an accumulator you can afford and accomodate which makes the use of the boiler more flexible and efficient.

 

Thanks