Chris Meir, Sales Director, Remeha
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched the first commercial boiler scrappage scheme of its kind in the UK to help London’s Small and Medium-sized Enterprises save money on their energy bills and improve air quality in the Capital.
Under the £10m Cleaner Heat Cashback scheme, SMEs in London will be able to receive a contribution of 30% towards the cost of installing a new high-efficiency, low-NOx gas or LPG boiler. This figure will increase to 35% in Air Quality Focus Areas. Where new boilers are used in a hybrid system, the contribution increases to 35% (uplifting to 40% in AQFAs)[1]. The scheme, which will be administered by the Energy Savings Trust, will start on 30 July 2018 and will run until 31 March 2020, or until funds last.
The scheme applies to existing coal or biomass boilers of any age and gas or LPG boilers that are a minimum of 10 years old with a minimum total output of 70kW. The replacement boilers must be at least 90% efficient and have NOx emissions of 40mg/kWh or less.
Chris Meir, Sales Director at Remeha, said: “We applaud this positive initiative by the Mayor of London’s office to incentivise the replacement of inefficient boilers with cleaner, lower carbon, ultra-low NOx condensing boilers.
“As a leading boiler manufacturer and supplier – and a pioneer of condensing boiler technology – we look forward to working with contractors and installers to support delivery of this scheme in London.
“Far too many UK non-domestic buildings rely on dated, inefficient boiler plant, wasting energy, creating unnecessarily large heating bills and polluting the air with needlessly high greenhouse gas emissions.
“The exact savings from retrofitting condensing boilers will, of course, depend on the nature of the building and the existing boilers. But our customers consistently report outstanding results – a fall in gas consumption of 48% from one, an annual carbon reduction equivalent to 217 tonnes from another, along with an annual saving of £35K in gas bills. And these are far from isolated outcomes.
“Replacing less efficient or ageing boilers with advanced condensing boilers, like the Remeha range, is a simple, cost-effective option that could be a small step for big environmental and financial changes. London alone expects to reduce NOx emissions by 80 tonnes a year, carbon emissions by between 20 and 70 thousand annually, and shave up to £7m off business bills. Just consider the scope for savings if carried out on a national level.
“We would therefore urge the government to follow London’s lead and implement a countrywide commercial boiler scrappage incentive. Energy efficiency must be an integral part of current and future plans for heat in buildings. Upgrading inefficient boiler plant with energy-saving condensing boilers is a practical, cost-effective option that will boost cost, carbon and NOx savings while reducing gas consumption. And in so doing, it will support the government’s Clean Growth goals by accelerating the move to a cleaner, low carbon future.”