Key terms explained for the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive

To be eligible, a renewable heating system must be issued with an MCS certificate by the installer. Certificates can only be issued for systems using an MCS certified product. This shows that the product meets the relevant standards in the regulations.

It is part of your ongoing obligations under the Scheme to notify us if you heating system’s MCS certified product is replaced or repaired. 

For more information, see Section 4 Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of the Essential guide.

 

Compliance Certificates are effectively checklists which confirm that your heating system was installed according to MCS standards and records key information about the heating system. Your installer should ensure that you are provided with a copy of your Compliance Certificate.

We will not require you to submit a copy of your Compliance Certificate as part of your application. 

A Metering and Monitoring Service Package (MMSP) is a set of meters you can install to collect data about your installation. You can use this data to monitor and optimise its performance. This is an optional metering package.

MMSPs are exclusive to the Domestic RHI and participants who have MMSP receive extra payments if they allow the government to access the data that the MMSP collects. This data may be used to gain valuable insights into the performance of renewable installations and to aid in future policy design.

MMSP is only available for heat pumps, or biomass boilers that burn wood pellets (not biomass pellet stoves or any other biomass boilers). If your membership with the Domestic RHI is terminated, your MMSP registration will also end.

The packages are available on a first-come, first-served basis. There are 11,255 MMSP packages available in total. We publish the data quarterly on our website. For more information regarding eligibility, please see Section 11, Chapter 2 of the Essential Guide. For full information regarding MMSP, please see Chapter 4 of the Guide to Metering.

If your home is not regularly or exclusively heated by your renewable installation, your installation may need to be metered for us to work out your payments. Meters must be installed to accurately measure the heat your installation generates – this is called a ‘metering for payment calculation’ and you will need to submit meter readings every three months. Metering for payment only applies for biomass plants and heat pumps. Solar thermal for heating domestic hot water never has to be metered for payment

 If your heating system is metered for payment, you’ll receive quarterly scheme payments based on the amount of renewable heat your system produces, up to the annual heat demand on your EPC or the relevant heat demand limit – whichever is lower. For applicants, it may be the case that you need to install meters to join the scheme. For participants, if certain circumstances change while your installation is accredited, you may need to fit metering for payment to carry on receiving payments. Once you are required to install metering for payment, you cannot return to being deemed for payment.

The closure of the scheme does not change the requirement for you to install metering if it is required. The important thing to know is that whether a heating system must be metered is not a choice but depends on specific circumstances.

Please see Section 10 Chapter 2 in the Essential guide for further information regarding the eligibility requirements to install metering. If you are a participant, please also see Chapter 3 in the Essential guide for information regarding your ongoing obligations and metering requirements to ensure you continue to be eligible to the DRHI. For further detailed information regarding metering for payment, including how to install metering, submitting metering readings and payments, please see Chapter 3 ‘Metering for payment’ and the Annex in the Guide for Metering. 

This information only applies if you have a heat pump.

After 22 May 2018, all new Domestic RHI applications for heat pumps are required to have an electricity meter arrangement that measures the electricity consumed by it to generate heat.

To receive Domestic RHI payments, you must ensure your meters are properly calibrated, installed and in good working order.

The metering for performance requirement is aimed at making the measurement of performance of the heating systems possible. It’s separate from, and different to, any requirement to be metered for Domestic RHI payments. Unless you are also required to have meters for payment, Domestic RHI payments will still be based on the heat demand listed on your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), up to the relevant heat demand limit.

You won’t be required to submit electricity meter readings to us unless you have meters for payment. However, The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero recommends you monitor the electricity (kWh) your heating system uses on a regular basis and speak to your MCS installer if your heat pump isn’t performing as efficiently as you’d expect.

If you commissioned your plant before these changes came into effect but applied to the scheme after, you’ll need an MCS installer to install electricity meters before you can make an application to the Domestic RHI scheme.

To comply with this requirement, your MCS installer needs to install at least one of the eligible electricity meter arrangements. For full details and examples, see Chapter 2 ‘Metering for performance’ and the Annex in the Guide to Metering.

There are a number of circumstances where you may be able to install multiple products and apply for these in one application. These scenarios have been outlined below. You will not be able to make separate applications for two products at the same property, unless one of the products is a solar thermal system. You may be allowed to make a single application for multiple products if they are the same technology and have been commissioned at the same time (see key term ‘Commissioning’ for further information on what 'commissioned' means).

We will ask you to send through all related MCS certificates as evidence. If your products were commissioned at different times, or are different technologies, you will need to choose which product to apply for. You will also be required to be metered for payment. For more information, please see the guide to metering.