Domestic RHI set to boost building and plumbing merchants

The government’s domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme has launched, giving welcome encouragement to builders’ merchants and hardware stores. The domestic RHI provides homeowners with a cash incentive for heating their homes with green, renewable technologies such as air source heat pumps and solar thermal panels. After the failure of the Green Deal, the coalition government’s environmental credentials haven’t just diminished; they’ve practically been eliminated. The RHI is one of the few remaining green schemes, but it looks as if it could benefit homeowners, installers, and the entire supply chain.

The technologies set to be subsidised under this scheme include: air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal panels. Generous tariffs on the energy generated will be paid quarterly to homeowners who install these green measures, providing a significant financial incentive to adopting these renewable technologies.

If the scheme takes off, builders’ merchants and hardware stores across the country are set to benefit from increased trade as the public look to take advantage of the RHI. Minister for Energy, Greg Barker, notes that the benefits of this scheme could be significant: ‘it opens up a market for the supply chain, engineers and installers – generating growth and supporting jobs as part of our long-term economic plan.’

There had been numerous doubts about whether domestic RHI would ever launch, given the scale of savings the Department for Energy and Climate Change is required to make. Now that it’s here, ensure that your business is ready to take advantage of it. Install up-to-date builders’ merchant point-of-sale software to make the most of promotional opportunities and to send out electronic invoices to your customers. Interested in retail software? Speak to a member of team.