Households warm to boiler scrappage scheme

Published 15th Feb 2010

More than a third of 125,000 vouchers made available to homeowners to replace inefficient boilers have gone



More than a third of the vouchers available under the government's boiler scrappage scheme have been snapped up since the scheme launched almost six weeks ago, according to figures out today.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change said that of the 125,000 vouchers made available, 54,578 have been taken, leaving about 70,000, which are worth a total of £28m.

The scheme, which was announced in December's pre-budget report and launched in early January, is designed to cut carbon and help people save money on energy bills.

Households with working boilers with the lowest "G" rating can apply for vouchers from the Energy Saving Trust, which they must put towards buying an A-rated boiler or installing a renewable heating system such as a biomass boiler or heat pump.

"The scheme is helping householders to save around £200 a year on fuel bills and reduce emissions, while helping to sustain work for the 130,000 installers and up to 25 UK-based boiler manufacturers," said energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband.

All the major energy companies which sell and install boilers have now matched the offer, giving householders potentially £800 towards the cost of a new boiler.

The Energy Saving Trust, which administers the scheme, said it has had nearly 400,000 calls, an average of 5,000 a day, at each of its regional advice centres.

The high levels of interest have meant, however, that thousands of householders who applied for the scheme have faced long waits for the vouchers.

Ruth Thompson from Teddington, who contacted guardian.co.uk/money, was one of those waiting for a response from the Energy Saving Trust.

"I spent three days trying to get through to them only to be greeted with a recorded message," she said. "I finally succeeded a week later and was told I would be contacted 'in 10 days'. That was more than 10 days ago and I am still waiting."

The EST has since had to double the number of staff in its call centre to cope with the demand.

Householders who have successfully received their voucher will need to deal with the Energy Saving Trust again further down the line. Those accepted for the scheme only get their money back by returning the voucher with an attached invoice to the EST once the work has been done. Payment should then be issued within 25 working days of receipt.

Some plumbers have suggested that the scheme could prove to be "financial madness" as it could involve ripping out an inefficient but functioning boiler.

But Roger Webb, director of trade association Heating and Hotwater Industry Council, said: "The boiler scrappage scheme has injected new life into the domestic heating market. Installers are thrilled that both existing and new customers are realising the benefits of this scheme and actually acting on the chance to replace their G-rated boilers. Normally a boiler purchase is a distress buy but customers are receiving their voucher and actually scheduling in an installation."

Source: ' Guardian '

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