Farmhouse and Office RHI?

tullah

Member
Location
Linconshire
I want to heat the farm house and office using the Non Domestic RHI scheme. Like most, the farmhouse pays non business rates. The office is one room which is situated at the end of the house with its own door to the outside. There's also a door from the office to a toilet for farm visitors...I was told this all helps to tick the boxes. I don't have any farm sheds nearby so don't have opportunity to heat a workshop. I have asked several installers if my setup qualifies for the Non Domestic RHI and none of them can give me a definite answer. Ofgem cant give me an answer either.
Has anyone managed to get the 20 year Non Domestic RHI for the house and room used as office? Thanks in advance.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Ofgem told me that the 'office' had to be in a seperate building to qualify. I toyed with the idea of converting a wooden shed at the bottom of the garden into an office, but then decided to wait for the domestic scheme. It might only be for 7 years, but it is at a higher rate per kW/hr and doesn't tie you into retaining the technology past 7 years.
 

Northdowns Martin

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Snodland kent
On a similar note what is the domestic RHi rate of pay? I have just had a call from a company who will supply and install a biomass boil foc my commitment is to buy the required wood pellets from them at £215/t and they get the RHi for the first 7yrs. Gift horse and all that there must be a catch? Sorry tullah no hijack intended.
 

custard

Member
Location
scottish borders
I want to heat the farm house and office using the Non Domestic RHI scheme. Like most, the farmhouse pays non business rates. The office is one room which is situated at the end of the house with its own door to the outside. There's also a door from the office to a toilet for farm visitors...I was told this all helps to tick the boxes. I don't have any farm sheds nearby so don't have opportunity to heat a workshop. I have asked several installers if my setup qualifies for the Non Domestic RHI and none of them can give me a definite answer. Ofgem cant give me an answer either.
Has anyone managed to get the 20 year Non Domestic RHI for the house and room used as office? Thanks in advance.
Hi, I looked into a farmhouse and office in same building and did not think it was separate enough to be commercial. I am currently having a log burner installed under the domestic scheme. Domestic 12.2p/kw for 7 years paid on the assessed figure from a green deal survey not actual usage.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
On a similar note what is the domestic RHi rate of pay? I have just had a call from a company who will supply and install a biomass boil foc my commitment is to buy the required wood pellets from them at £215/t and they get the RHi for the first 7yrs. Gift horse and all that there must be a catch? Sorry tullah no hijack intended.

The domestic RHI would pay for the boiler, installation, fuel & interest in less than the 7 years.

I can't claim mine until July, but will qualify for about £3k/yr according to my GDA. Fuels spend is currently about £1250/yr and installation was c.£7k (inc thermal store). Just got to keep the feckin thing going for 7 yrs now (electrics currently shot and awaiting another repair). Technology is good, MCZ boilers aren't.:banghead::mad:
 

NavitasBen

Member
Location
Somerset
OFGEM will accept other forms of evidence if you don't pay business rates; photographs of the setting being the obvious one. The key thing so far as i've experienced is that the office must be "solely used for business purposes" - they won't accept a desk in the corner of a bedroom. Unfortunately, unless you're willing to either install first and hope, your only other option would be to put through a fictitious preliminary accreditation application using a 200kW+ boiler to see if ofgem will accept the application in principle. If so, withdraw it and install a suitably sized system, pointing to the preliminary application if ofgem question the eligibility for the actual application. This is the only way i know of testing the water with ofgem, without having installed first.
 

Nav man

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
gloucestershire
Hi, we have had an epc done which came back at 80,000kwh. We have had a quote from a company to install under domestic scheme a 36kw boiler.

1. is the rhi paid on epc calculation or on size of boiler installed if smaller?
2. Is there a limit on domestic scheme of 70kwh? if so does that make farmhouse non domestic rhi.?
3. Will meter need to be installed if we install a smaller boiler than recommended?
Hope someone can clarify this. our installer seems to be as confused as me although they believe payment will be based on size of boiler as its smaller than epc recommendation.

Thanks
 

Bernt

Member
i would be a little worried that your installer cannot answer your questions!!! has he done previous rhi installations, does he have the correct qualifications for you to claim the rhi (MCS, Hetas)
 

Nav man

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
gloucestershire
In fairness to them this is their first biomass install. They are/have mcs hetas etc. They tell me cap is 50kw but lots of other companies I have phoned say there is no limit on rhi domestic. They have also told me that if we install a smaller boiler than recommended the payment will be linked to this? I am hoping for £9600 yearly from rhi for the 7 years. they started of with this figure but have sinced revised it to £5500 due to size of insall although again I have checked with other companies and they all say something different.
 

Bernt

Member
fair enough if its their first biomass install (we all have to start somewhere). i dont deal witht the RHI side of the business only the technical, but i think the domestic rhi is only covered to 45kw for a single boiler. if 2 boilers OF THE SAME TYPE are fitted then it rises to 70kw. if it was possible to make your installation "commercial" then you would get substantially more money back as its run for 20 years, but bear in mind that there is likely to be a cut in the tariff pretty soon.
 

NavitasBen

Member
Location
Somerset
For the domestic scheme the heat load as shown on the EPC (80,000kWh as you mention above) will be used to calculate the payments. This will equate to 12.2p/kWh x 80,000 kWh = £9760 annually.
 

NavitasBen

Member
Location
Somerset
@tullah i'm in the process of putting through a commercial RHI application to heat a farmhouse and office, with a small hot water cylinder in a barn. I'll let you know how it goes; OFGEM have said that the evidence we're offering should be sufficient but as usual won't guarantee the result.
 

sheepwise

Member
Location
SW Scotland
Looking into a domestic RHI for the farmhouse here.Have been told only to go for commercial if I have a genuine use for the heat produced.As far as I can see the big difference between commercial and domestic rates is that in the domestic situation there is no need to meter the heat produced because the rates are paid purely on the annual estimate from the EPC.Also in the domestic situation the RHI is not taxable income.My worry is that the scheme I have been offered seems too good to be true with a payback of 4 years and a possibilty of £20k in pocket for the final 3 years of the RHI.Perhaps someone with more knowledge and experience could comment.
 

tullah

Member
Location
Linconshire
As far as non domestic RHI is concerned you heat your farmhouse plus any number of nearby sheds (pre insulated underground pipe work is pricey) that you could class as a workshop and youve a genuine need for the heat. Currently I think the commercial rate paid on the heat meter is 8.4p a unit index linked for 20 years. Have to weigh up whether better for you to go for the higher rate for 7 years on domestic or the commercial lower rate for 20 years.
 

Bernt

Member
but to qualify for the installation to be commercial then you would have to have a business running from the workshop, or have its own council tax bill. Otherwise everyman and his dog would be fitting a boiler in his house with a bit of pipe going to a garden shed and claiming commercial Rhi!!!!.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
but to qualify for the installation to be commercial then you would have to have a business running from the workshop, or have its own council tax bill. Otherwise everyman and his dog would be fitting a boiler in his house with a bit of pipe going to a garden shed and claiming commercial Rhi!!!!.

Not if agricultural. Officially you have to heat 2 separately rateable properties, IIRC. As Ag isn't rated, it just needs to be two distinctly separate buildings, hence you can't heat an office within the farmhouse but you can if it's in a separate building.
 

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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