Home Energy Scotland is simplifying the Heat Pump Grant Process, what does that mean for you?
Home Energy Scotland is removing the requirement for a pre-application report.
Loco Home Retrofit welcomes a simplification to the heat pump grant application process announced by Home Energy Scotland today. From 3rd July, “customers will no longer need a recommendation on a qualifying report to apply for funding for […] heat pumps”.
Previously, homeowners who wanted to benefit from the £7500 grant for heat pumps in Scotland (£9000 in rural areas) needed Home Energy Scotland to produce a report about the suitability of a heat pump based on an extended phone call or potentially a site visit. In our view, that requirement always had more disadvantages than advantages, mainly because of the time burden it placed on the applicant.
Home Energy Scotland has reasoned that a report is not needed because installers receiving the grant must comply with MCS requirements which include “a detailed assessment to make sure the system is suitable for the property.”
In Loco Home’s view, all properties are suitable for a heat pump provided somewhere can be found to locate the heat pump and the hot water cylinder. However some households are not suitable especially if they would struggle to adapt to a different way of controlling their heating – such as those with pre-payment meters. That consideration of the human side of heat pump deployment is a key feature of our support services including the Heat Pump Plan.
Furthermore, neither the MCS process nor the Home Energy Scotland report is currently a strong defence against bad heat pump installations. We have seen some absolutely terrible installations from MCS-accredited installers who have strangely good ratings on the EST Renewables Installer Finder. Homeowners have approached us after having a heat pump installed complaining of high running costs. We have found that this is due to poor design and installation skills from MCS-accredited installers. We have seen underfloor heating connected back to front, small properties unnecessarily split into multiple heating zones, unnecessary buffers and multiple circulation pumps on a single circuit. As well as resulting in higher running costs, these poor choices add unnecessary cost to the installation and remediation.
The MCS accreditation scheme that qualifies installers for heat pump grants was recently renewed with some sensible improvements. There is good reason to believe that incompetent and irresponsible practices by MCS designers and installers will be gradually eradicated.
While there are still some bad installers out there, the vast majority of installations go well. Independent research found “94% of homeowners with a heat pump are either “satisfied” (44%) or “extremely satisfied” (50%).”
Nonetheless this announcement from Home Energy Scotland is very welcome. It will save homeowners time and broaden access to funding and clean heating for busy households. Furthermore, it should save the Scottish Government money which we hope will be reinvested in additional support for homeowners.
To get the grant, homeowners still need to call Home Energy Scotland.