Eligible heating systems

To apply for the DRHI, your renewable heating system needs to be one of the four technology types eligible for the scheme. It must also meet specific technical requirements and provide heat for a permitted use.

Which renewable technologies are eligible?

There are four eligible renewable technology types. These are:

biomass only boilers, and biomass pellet stoves
air source heat pumps
ground source heat pumps
flat plate and evacuated tube solar thermal panels.

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 EN standards.

To find out whether a product is MCS certified, search the MCS product directory.

Check heat uses

You’ll see from the table below that there are restrictions on what the heat produced can be used for.

Eligibility requirements	Eligible uses	Ineligible uses
Must use a liquid to provide space (eg, room) heating	Space heating (SH) only, or both space and Domestic hot water (DHW) heating.	Designed to generate heat to cook food.
Must be designed and installed to use solid biomass fuel	Biomass systems don't have to provide domestic water heating to be eligible, but may do so.	Domestic hot water (DHW) doesn't include space heating (including heat dumps) or swimming pool heating.
Must comply with Air quality requirements requirements

Eligibility requirements	Eligible uses	Ineligible uses
Must be designed and installed to use with wood pellets. (Log burning stoves are not eligible)	Space heating (SH) only, or both space and Domestic hot water (DHW) heating.	Designed primarily to generate heat to cook food. For more information see Cooker stoves
Must use a liquid filled heat exchanger, enclosed within the system	Biomass systems don't have to provide domestic water heating to be eligible, but may do so.	Domestic hot water (DHW) doesn't include space heating (including heat dumps) or swimming pool heating.
Must comply with air quality

Eligibility requirements	Eligible uses	Ineligible uses
Must use a compressor driven by electricity	Space heating (SH) only, or both space and Domestic hot water (DHW) heating.	Designed to use heat from air expelled from an appliance or building when generating heat
Must use a liquid to provide space (eg, room) heating	Heat pumps don't have to provide domestic water heating to be eligible, but may do so (They may also provide water cooling).	Domestic hot water (DHW) doesn't include space heating (including heat dumps) or swimming pool heating.
Must have a minimum Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) of 2.5

Eligibility requirements	Eligible uses	Ineligible uses
Must use a compressor driven by electricity	Space heating (SH) only, or both space and Domestic hot water (DHW) heating.	Have a ground loop array that's shared with heat pumps in other eligible properties
Must use a liquid to provide space heating	Heat pumps don't have to provide domestic water heating to be eligible, but may do so (They may also provide water cooling).	Domestic hot water (DHW) doesn't include space heating (including heat dumps) or swimming pool heating.
Must have a minimum Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) of 2.5

Eligibility requirements	Eligible uses	Ineligible uses
Must use a compressor driven by electricity	Space heating (SH) only, or both space and Domestic hot water (DHW) heating.	Have a ground loop array that's shared with heat pumps in other eligible properties
Must use a liquid to provide space heating	Heat pumps don't have to provide domestic water heating to be eligible, but may do so (They may also provide water cooling).	Domestic hot water (DHW) doesn't include space heating (including heat dumps) or swimming pool heating.
Must have a minimum Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) of 2.5

Additional requirements for Biomass installations only

All models of biomass product installed need an RHI Emission Certificate, which shows that they meet the required air quality standards. You must also use a certain fuel type with the maximum moisture content allowed by the RHI emissions certificate. When purchasing the fuel type that is right for your biomass installation, you must always make sure that it’s listed on the Biomass Suppliers List (BSL). This demonstrates that the fuel meets our sustainability criteria.

Additional requirements for heat pump installations installed on or after 22 May 2018 only

This section only applies if you have a heat pump. If you have a heat pump:

your heat pump must be metered for performance.
you need to have an electricity meter arrangement that measures the electricity consumed by the heat pump to generate heat.

There are three metering arrangement options available for metering for performance, which can be used alone or in combination:

Standalone Metering
On-board metering
Metering and Monitoring Service Package (MMSP)

The meter(s) will be required to record and display:

•   electricity used by the plant to generate heat;

•   electrical input into any supplementary electric heater controlled by the same control system as the heat pump; and

•   electrical input into any immersion heater for a domestic hot water cylinder where the immersion heater is controlled by the same control system as the heat pump.

You will need to make sure this information is added to your MCS Certificate. For full details and examples, please read our Essential Guide to Metering.

Please note

Space heating must be delivered by a liquid medium, such as a radiator. Domestic hot water heating means hot water used for purposes other than space heating or heating a swimming pool.

Something you don't understand? Check our key terms.

Eligible heating systems