Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (Domestic RHI)

How much will I receive?

The government host a Domestic RHI payment calculator, where you can get an idea of what your payments will be. The exact details of payments can only be provided once an application has been accredited.

Payments

If your installation is accredited to the DRHI, you are eligible to receive payments as long as you continue to meet your ongoing obligations. In most circumstances payments are based on the annual heat demand of your property, which can be found on your EPC. The only exceptions to this rule are if your installation is:

• solar thermal, which is based on the Estimated Annual Heat Generation found on your MCS certificate
• metered for payment, in which case payments are based on the meter readings.

How often will I receive payments?

If your application is successful, your first payment will be made three months after the date you applied (your ‘date of application’).

Payments are made every three months for up to seven years (the ‘tariff lifetime’) from the application date. We may suspend payments in certain circumstances, such as where ownership of the installation is changing, or payments exceed the amount the participant is entitled to.

We aim to release DRHI payments within 1-2 weeks from the payment due date shown on your MyRHI account. 

Every effort will be made to release these payments in this timeframe but scheme participants are asked to note that there may occasionally be short delays, and to plan accordingly. 

Tariffs

Tariffs set the rate for your Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments. As scheme administrators, we’re responsible for publishing the current tariff rates set by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Click to view the latest tariff rates for the Domestic RHI scheme.

Tariff rates for Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments are set by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Budget announcements can be viewed on their website.

How the Retail Price Index (RPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) affect tariffs

The tariff rate secured at accreditation may increase but will not ever decrease. During the seven years’ scheme, your tariff rate changes in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) or Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which is calculated in April each year. Your tariff will not change for any other reason. These updates will happen automatically and can be viewed by logging into MyRHI and checking your payment schedule.

Applications submitted before 1 April 2016 have their tariffs adjusted in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI).

Applications submitted on or after 1 April 2016 have their tariffs adjusted in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Scheme budget management (degression)

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has to keep the DRHI scheme within budget. Sometimes they lower the tariff rates for new applicants if payment amounts are higher than a set threshold. This is called degression.

Tariffs are reviewed every quarter and compared to the forecast. If government spending on the scheme in a three month period reaches the expenditure thresholds, growth in spending reached the growth threshold and either super threshold is reached, the tariff for new accreditations of that technology type is degressed by 10%. If both super thresholds were breached, the tariff for new accreditations was degressed by 20%. If a tariff reduction is due to take place, Ofgem publish this as soon as possible.

A tariff reduction only affects people who are applying after the degression date. If you submit a complete application to us before the reduction takes place you won’t be affected if your application is successful. We base your tariff on the date you submit the application (submission date), not the date you officially join the scheme. This means that if your application is still being reviewed when degression comes into effect, you will not lose out. If you encounter technical problems submitting your application before a degression date, please contact us in writing in advance.

Please note that the scheme is closing. Degressions will not take place after closure.

Is there something you don't understand? Check our key terms for the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive.