RHI encouraged to be more attractive to householders

According to the prominent think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the government should make the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) more "attractive" and "cost effective" to householders.

The IPPR then went out to claim that renewable heating was being prevented by the 'high upfront costs' of installing new technologies. However, with government grants set to be allocated to residential housing next year, there is funding for those who are deciding to make the switch to renewable heating.

It also states that it doubts whether the "new technologies would deliver enough heat at an acceptable price". This claim is debatable, as energy sources such as wood pellets work in a similar way to traditional radiator systems and are very compatible with existing heating appliances.

The report does agree that cutting emissions from household heating is important, and the RHI's commitment to this is unquestioned. For example, heating a house via biomass/wood pellets generates 9 times less CO2 than heating oil and 6 times less than mains gas.

As the next twelve months goes by, and the RHI is explained further, more and more consumers are expected to switch to renewable heat sources - as the environmental and financial benefits become clearer.