Boris Johnson
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson last week launched London’s first Boiler Cashback Scheme, which will offer £400 to help home owners and landlords replace their old boilers with new high energy efficient models.
Heating homes accounts for more than half of what the average household spends on energy bills every year and thousands of Londoners will be eligible for the new replacement boilers, which will provide savings of around £340 on annual bills compared with older, non-condensing boilers. Old, inefficient boilers can emit high levels of carbon emissions and waste energy resulting in higher bills. Each new boiler replacement through the Cashback Scheme will save around 1.5 tonnes of carbon each year – equivalent to the emissions from a return flight from London to San Francisco.
To qualify for the scheme boilers must be the main source of heating in the house, in full working order and running at 70% or less efficiency.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said, “This scorching scheme will help 6,500 London homes become more energy efficient and cut annual bills. As well as saving hard earned cash, upgrading an old boiler gives the environment a huge boost by lowering carbon emissions and making our air sweeter. I encourage everyone harbouring ancient boiler artefacts to sign up to my Boiler Cashback Scheme now and benefit from a brand new cost effective heating system.”
The London Boiler Cashback Scheme has support from independent charity, National Energy Action, which seeks to help those who are less able to heat their homes, working with central and local government, housing providers, consumer groups and voluntary organisations.
Jenny Saunders OBE, Chief Executive of charity National Energy Action (NEA) says, “We welcome the Mayor’s much needed investment in domestic energy efficiency. Replacing an old and inefficient boiler can reduce the cost of keeping warm and in some instances the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. I hope many Londoners will be able to benefit from the scheme, especially those in the private rented sector.”
The scheme also has the full support of the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC), a member organisation committed to effectively driving, supporting and promoting the sustained growth of the UK domestic heating and hot water industry.
Stewart Clements, Director of HHIC says, “This is a great scheme that will benefit thousands of home owners. These inefficient boilers use more energy, creating more carbon emissions and are more expensive to run than their modern day counterparts. The Mayor and his team have clearly done their homework and are pulling out all of the stops to deliver a first class programme. I hope that MPs are watching closely so that once the benefits are clearly demonstrated it can be rolled out across their constituencies.”
Home owners and London Rental Standard-accredited private landlords with qualifying boilers are being urged to seek at least three quotes from accredited installers at the earliest opportunity. The applicant can then complete an online application form in order to receive the cashback voucher.
Vouchers will be valid for 12 weeks and installation work needs to be completed in this time in order to qualify for the cashback. Once the new A rated boiler has been installed, the voucher must be sent back along with the invoice no later than ten working days after the voucher expiry date to receive the £400.
For more information and to confirm eligibility, click here.
