Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive closes

The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (DRHI) closed on 31 March 2022, ending a scheme that had paid domestic households in Great Britain for renewable heat since April 2014¹. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) states that although the scheme closed on that date, accreditations are still taking place, mainly because of transfer of ownership applications¹.

Under the DRHI, successful applicants who complied with the scheme rules received quarterly payments over seven years, proportionate to the amount of renewable heat their systems were estimated to produce¹. Self-build properties were eligible¹. The scheme is one of several closed policies affecting home energy, alongside the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, which closed in March 2021 for most applicants, the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme, which ran between September 2020 and March 2021 for domestic properties in England, and the Local Authority Delivery scheme, which opened in August 2020 and closed in September 2023¹.

The DRHI sat alongside other government support that could be claimed at the same time. Where a household received funding from the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme, the Local Authority Delivery scheme or the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, any funding received was subsequently deducted from DRHI quarterly payments made to the applicant¹. A small number of heat pumps qualified for dual registration between the RHI scheme and other schemes, so the total number of government-supported heat pump installations is slightly lower than the published tables show, to account for this double counting¹.

DESNZ published heat pump deployment statistics covering January 2018 to December 2024 on 6 March 2025¹. In the year ending December 2024, 42,645 heat pumps were installed in the UK that were either partially or fully funded through a DESNZ heat pump scheme, a 52% increase on the 28,084 installed in the preceding 12 months¹. The majority of those installations were funded through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation, at 53% and 40% respectively¹. Of the government-supported installations in the latest 12 months, 98% were air source heat pumps¹.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme applies to England and Wales only, with vouchers issued from 1 April 2022 onwards¹. The statistics cover DESNZ government-supported heat pump installations only and do not yet capture installations in new-build properties, through devolved administration schemes, or those installed without government financial support¹. They are published as Official Statistics in development, with the first review point in Autumn 2025¹.

Why it matters for households

The DRHI was a payment scheme rather than an upfront grant: households that had accredited installations received quarterly payments over seven years based on estimated renewable heat output¹. Its closure means no new applications can be made, so a household considering a renewable heating system now has a different set of government schemes to look at, principally the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Wales¹. For homes that were already accredited before 31 March 2022, the payment stream continues under the scheme rules, and the ongoing accreditations reported after closure relate mainly to transfers of ownership, meaning a property changing hands can still bring a DRHI installation with it¹.

The wider figures show where government support for heat pumps has moved. Government-supported installations rose 52% in the year to December 2024 compared with the previous year, with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation accounting for the bulk of them¹. Coverage of the statistics is not complete: installations without government funding, in new-build properties, and through some devolved administration schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland are not currently included¹. The Department says it intends to expand coverage once methodology work is complete, and does not expect material changes to the publication content before Autumn 2025¹.

What happens next

The next release of the heat pump deployment statistics is scheduled for 5 June 2025¹. The status of the series as Official Statistics in development will be kept under review, with the first review point in Autumn 2025¹. No end date for post-closure DRHI accreditations has been reported.

Sources1 cited

1. [](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67c7427a68a61757838d22ce/Heat_pump_deployment_quarterly_statistics_United_Kingdom_2024_Q4.xlsx), assets.publishing.service.gov.uk