The UK boiler scrappage scheme was a scrappage scheme to subsidise up to 125,000 English households to install newer, fuel-efficient heating systems and stay warm without wasting energy. Each qualifying household would receive a £400 grant. Households that took part were expected to save between £200 and £235 a year on fuel bills, cut their carbon emissions and sustain work for the heating industry.
The scheme was announced by the Chancellor Alistair Darling in a Pre-Budget Report at the end of 2009 and launched on 5 January 2010. A similar vehicle scrappage scheme had already been announced in the 2009 budget. The total cost was to be £50 million, with a further £150 million for the Warm Front Scheme.[1]
To qualify, one had to live in England and have a working G-rated boiler. Successful applicants received a voucher for £400 off the price of either a modern A-rated boiler or a renewable heating system (such as a biomass boiler, heat pump or micro CHP). After a completed installation, the voucher could be redeemed from the Energy Saving Trust for its £400 monetary value.[2]
Some suppliers were criticised for high prices of the replacement boilers offered. Even though some of the major power companies were offering a further £400 discount to match the government voucher, their overall price was still considerably greater than that from an independent fitter.[3]
Unlike some other UK schemes, the scheme was taken up widely and all 125,000 vouchers were claimed within a few months, with the scheme then closing.[4] Later schemes were available but were targeted at benefits claimants, rather than the least efficient boilers.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Beament, Emily (9 December 2009). "Boiler scrappage scheme unveiled". The Independent. Press Association. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ Bachelor, Lisa (5 January 2010). "Boiler scrappage scheme launched". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- Bachelor, Lisa (5 January 2010). "Q&A: Boiler scrappage scheme". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 October 2019. - ^ Adetunji, Jo (21 September 2010). "Energy suppliers charged inflated prices in gas boiler scrappage scheme". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- Guy Anker (12 January 2010). "Warning over boiler scrappage incentives". Money Saving Expert.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Lisa Bachelor (26 March 2010). "Boiler scrappage scheme closes to new applications". The Guardian.