Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (Domestic RHI)

The Domestic Renewable Heat Inventive (DRHI) scheme is a government financial incentive scheme to encourage consumers in in England, Wales and Scotland to switch to renewable heating systems. The scheme closed at midnight on 31 March 2022. If you’re moving into a property with a renewable heating system already accredited to DRHI, you may be able to apply to receive the remainder of the payment.

More information can be found on our Change of Ownership page.

What do I need to know?

Installation ownership 

You must solely or jointly own the renewable heating system. This means you, or the previous owner of the renewable technology, must have made a financial contribution towards the cost of the heating equipment or its installation (or both), unless the owner is a local authority, or a registered investor has paid for the installation as part of an Assignment of Rights agreement. 

The former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), now the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, introduced an option to help householders or landlord’s access finance to overcome the barrier of the upfront cost of a renewable heating system, called “assignment of rights” (AoR). To register, investors will need to read the Essential Guide to the Assignment of Rights.

Installation requirements 

Your eligible renewable technology must be installed and commissioned by an MCS certified installer who can provide you with an MCS certificate. To find out whether a product is MCS certified, search the MCS product directory.

Financial contribution 

If you have received a grant from public funds that covered the entire cost of the purchase and installation of your renewable heating system, your installation won’t be eligible for the scheme. If the grant covered some of the costs, we’ll need to deduct the amount you received from your payment, spread evenly over the 7 years of accreditation.

Property Ownership 

You must own or occupy the eligible domestic property. Registered social and private landlords can also apply but landlords need to be aware of additional information before making an application. 

Property requirements 

It must have a domestic Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The EPC is the proof we need that your property is assessed as a domestic ‘dwelling’. Without one, you won’t be able to apply and can’t join the scheme. The DRHI scheme is available to any household off and on the gas grid that can meet the eligibility criteria. The EPC must be issued within the last 24 months. If your EPC has recommendations to install loft or cavity wall insulation, you will need to install these and get a new EPC, unless you qualify for an exemption. If your house is a new build property, you must meet additional criteria to be eligible.

Metering requirements 

It may be the case that you need to install meters to join the scheme. 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. This is called Metering for Payment. 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 a participant as well. 

To find out if you need metering, please see the essential guide. If you have a heat pump, your heat pump must be metered for performance. This means you need to have an electricity meter arrangement that measures the electricity consumed by the heat pump to generate heat.

Other things to know

If your application is approved, you need to comply with a number of ongoing obligations during the 7-year accreditation to continue to receive payments. Read the essential guide for full details.

If your heating system’s accreditation has come to the end of its 7-year accreditation period (the lifetime of your scheme membership), you cannot apply for the DRHI again for another renewable heating system at the same property, even if you decide to install a brand-new renewable heating system. If your property is being heated or has previously been heated by an installation which was accredited to the Non-Domestic RHI scheme, you cannot apply to the DRHI scheme.

Is there something you don't understand? Check our glossary of key terms.