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On 10 February 2010, the Welsh Assembly announced that it is investing in a boiler scrappage scheme.  This follows hot on the heels of the Scottish Government, which said last week that it would be running a similar scheme.

 The two devolved countries are following the English scheme which has been running in England since January 5 2010.  The Northern Ireland Assembly has yet to make a decision. 

At Baxi, we are delighted that these Governments are taking a leading role in raising awareness and incentivising people to replace their old, inefficient boilers.  The scheme is good for the UK heating industry – around 80% of boilers sold in the UK are manufactured here – great for homeowners, who will see substantial savings on the fuel bills, and will help the UK Government to meet its targets for reducing carbon emissions. 

In Wales, only people over the age of 60 will qualify, and they will receive £500 towards the cost of a replacing an old, G rated boiler under the £2.5 million scheme.  The scheme will come into force on 1 April this year and the £2.5 million has been allocated for 2010/11.  In addition, £1.4 million will be invested in the Welsh Home Energy Efficiency Scheme, to help tackle fuel poverty in households by improving heating and insulation. 

A sum of £2 million has been earmarked for the Scottish boiler scrappage scheme.  If it is run along the lines of the English scheme, where homeowners receive £400 cash back towards the cost of replacing their boiler, 5,000 Scottish households could be enjoying savings on their fuel bills per annum, as well as reducing their carbon footprint. 

The mechanics of how the Scottish and Welsh schemes will work have not yet been announced, but when they are we will update the Baxi website to give you full details.  

Many homes in Scotland and Wales are in off mains gas areas.  These households will have the opportunity to replace G rated boilers replaced with new, high efficiency, A rated LPG boilers or low carbon technologies such as biomass boilers.

According to the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC), there are approximately 4.5 million Band G boilers still in use in the UK, each working at less than 70 per cent efficiency.  Changing to a Band A high efficiency boiler could save you around £235 a year in energy bills, as well as reducing your carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by a staggering 1.2 tonnes.  

Baxi has a range of SEDBUK Band A rated boilers suitable for every application.  The Baxi Duo-tec Combi HE was voted CORGI Boiler of the Year 2008 by installers and was awarded Best Buy by Which? in 2007, when it achieved 5-star ratings for efficiency, low NO_x emissions (Nitrogen Oxide), features and installing.  Baxi has also introduced a brand new high efficiency back boiler unit, the only A-rated appliance on the market suitable for use as a direct replacement.  And we have a market leading range of low and zero carbon technologies including biomass, air source and ground source heat pumps and solar thermal. 

You can also find your nearest Baxi installer on the website.  Simply type in your postcode and hit the Find an Installer button for a map showing the closest Gas Safe Registered Baxi Installers, along with their names, addresses and Gas Safe registration numbers.