Technology |
Household Grants |
Typical cost |
Typical energy output |
Requirements |
| Solar water heating panels |
NIE £400 |
£3000 to £5000 depending on size and type of collector. |
Provides 40 - 50% of annual hot water needs. Savings depend on fuel displaced. |
Unshaded south facing roof. 4 square metres of roof area.Space for a larger hot water cylinder.You must obtain Building Control approval. |
| Photovoltaics (solar electric panels) |
NIE £1,000 per kWp or 20% of eligible costs whichever is lower (max £5,000) |
£6000 to £7000 per kWp. 1.5 kWp to 2.5kWp suitable for 3 bedroom house. |
Provides approximately 30% of annual electricity needs. Savings depend on price of electricity and how much is used on site rather than spilled to grid. |
Unshaded south facing roof.8 to 10 square metres of roof area per kWp. You must obtain Building Control approval. |
| Wind |
NIE £900 per kW or 30% of eligible costs whichever is lower (max £4,500) |
Generally £2500 to £5000 per kW.
Typical house: 2.5 kW costing £10,000 to £12,000. Building mounted - cost from around £1600 to £4500. |
Dependent on site conditions. |
You must obtain Planning Permission before installing all wind turbines, regardless of size.Check your site has a sufficient wind resource.Output increases with turbine height. Wind speed database at 10m height available at: www.decc.gov.uk |
| Hydro |
Closed to new applicants |
Very variable dependent on individual site conditions and amount of civil works required. |
Dependent on site conditions. |
You must obtain Planning Permission before installing all hydro systems.Viability depends on sufficient flow volume, rate and head and there must be enough residual flow to maintain the river. Seek professional advice. |
| GSHP (& ASHP) |
None |
8kW system costs £6000 to £12000. |
Ground source heat pumps are powered by electricity. For every one unit of electricity input you get 4 units of heat energy output. |
Can be vertical (bore hole) or horizontal (ground loop). Must have sufficient land area and non-rocky soil.
Building Control approval will be required in most situations. Cheaper to run on the Economy 7 tariff. |
| Pellet stoves / automated room heaters |
None |
£2000 to £4000.Bagged pellets cost £170 + 5% VAT per tonne (pallet of 100 x 10 kg bags). |
2 tonnes of pellets are roughly equivalent to 1000 ltres of oil in terms of energy content. Heating with pellets costs less than heating with oil (see below). |
Pellets require 3x the storage space of oil. Internal hopper will need refilling every few days, depending on usage. De-ash once per month. Contact your local Building Control office to see if approval is required. If you live in a Smoke Control Area you can only use appliances that have been approved by the Clean Air Act. |
| Pellet boilers |
None |
15kW to 20kW, costing £5000 to £14000. Bulk pellets cost £165 + 5% VAT per tonne (min 3 tonnes delivery). |
2 tonnes of pellets are roughly equivalent to 1000 litres of oil in terms of energy content. Heating with pellets costs less than heating with oil e.g. 1000 litres oil £447.93 (on 7th Oct 2010), two tonnes pellets £346.50 . |
Pellets require 3x the storage space of oil. 3 tonnes of pellets will require storage space of 6 cubic metres.Positioning the boiler adjacent to the fuel store will enable a continous-feed system.De-ash once per month.Contact your local Building Control office to see if approval is required.If you live in a Smoke Control Area you can only use appliances that have been approved by the Clean Air Act. |
If you are a farmer, bed and breakfast owner- or business visit the NIE Energy website for more detailed information on grants available to you.
