Renewable Heat Incentive – Commercial RHI
Owners of ground source heat pumps systems (and other eligible renewable heat technologies) installed since 15 July 2009, can apply to Ofgem to be paid 9.56 pence/kWhour of renewable heat generated for the next 20 years.
The Renewable Heat Incentive can be received by owners of non-domestic buildings for 20 years based on the metered heat delivered from ground source heat pumps.
The RHI tariff table below shows the technologies eligible for Commercial RHI and the subsidy received for each technology. The RHI provides a major incentive for owners to invest in ground source heat pumps and solar thermal renewable heat technologies. The tariffs are based on pence/kWh of renewable heat delivered.
The rates are relevant to those considering investment in renewable energy systems. The grants vary with the technology and scale used for installations from the start of the month as follows:
| RHI Commercial over 20 years |
p/kWh Jan 2015 |
p/kWh Apr 2015 |
p/kWh Jul 2015 |
p/kWh Oct 2015 |
p/kWh Jan 2016 |
p/kWh Apr 2016 |
p/kWh Jul 2016 |
p/kWh Oct 2016 |
p/kWh Jan 2017 |
p/kWh Apr 2017 |
p/kWh Jul 2017 |
p/kWh Oct 2017 |
p/kWh Apr 2018 |
p/kWh Apr 2019 |
p/kWh Apr 2020 |
| GSHP | 8.7 | 8.84 | 8.84 | 8.84 | 8.84 | 8.95 | 8.95 | 8.95 | 8.95 | 9.09 | 9.09 | 9.09 | 9.36 | 9.56 | 9.68 |
| ASHP¹ | 2.5 | 2.54 | 2.54 | 2.54 | 2.54 | 2.57 | 2.57 | 2.57 | 2.57 | 2.61 | 2.61 | 2.61 | 2.69 | 2.75 | 2.79 |
| Solar thermal | 10.0 | 10.16 | 10.16 | 10.16 | 10.16 | 10.28 | 10.28 | 10.28 | 10.28 | 10.44 | 10.44 | 10.44 | 10.75 | 10.98 | 11.12 |
| Biomass | 6.8 | 5.87 | 4.40 | 4.18 | 3.76 | 3.62 | 3.26 | 3.10 | 2.91 | 2.85 | 2.71 | 2.96 | 3.05 | 3.11 | 3.15 |
¹No RHI is paid for air to water heat pumps if they are also capable of providing cooling.
Tariffs for ground source heat pumps over 100kW were degressed by 10% from April, and a further 20% from July 2020.
Additional specialist commercial RHI tariffs
Following announcements from DECC in December 2013, there are also be specialist commercial RHI tariffs for additional technologies available from 28 May 2014. The rates for installations from the start of the month shown:
| RHI Commercial over 20 years |
Scale | p/kWh July 2015 |
p/kWh Oct 2015 |
p/kWh Jan 2016 |
p/kWh Apr 2016 |
p/kWh July 2016 |
p/kWh Oct 2016 |
p/kWh Jan 2017 |
p/kWh Apr 2017 |
p/kWh July 2017 |
p/kWh Apr 2018 |
| Solid Biomass CHP | 4.17 | 4.17 | 4.17 | 4.22 | 4.22 | 4.22 | 4.22 | 4.29 | 4.29 | 4.42 | |
| Biogas small | <200kW | 7.62 | 7.62 | 7.62 | 6.94 | 5.90 | 4.43 | 3.32 | 3.20 | 2.88 | 2.97 |
| Biogas medium | 200-600 | 5.99 | 5.99 | 5.99 | 5.45 | 4.63 | 3.47 | 2.60 | 2.51 | 2.26 | 2.33 |
| Biogas large | >600kW | 2.24 | 2.24 | 2.24 | 2.04 | 1.73 | 1.30 | 0.98 | 0.95 | 0.86 | 0.89 |
| Deep Geothermal | 5.08 | 5.08 | 5.08 | 5.14 | 5.14 | 5.14 | 5.14 | 5.22 | 5.22 | 5.38 | |
| Biomethane | tier 1 | 7.24 | 6.52 | 5.87 | 5.35 | 4.55 | 4.43 | 3.89 | 3.56 | 3.20 | 3.30 |
| Biomethane | tier 2 | 4.25 | 3.83 | 3.45 | 3.14 | 2.67 | 2.54 | 2.29 | 2.10 | 1.89 | 1.95 |
| Biomethane | tier 3 | 3.28 | 2.95 | 2.66 | 2.42 | 2.06 | 1.96 | 1.76 | 1.61 | 1.45 | 1.49 |
RHI rates change with inflation each year.
Experienced Contractor
A ground source heat pump provides an excellent method for providing emission free heating and avoiding further rises in energy bills, as well as attracting RHI, but they must be installed by an experienced contractor for the full potential to be realised.
Please verify if your contractor is a member of the GSHP Association.