English Boiler Scheme Scrappage evaluation report

The Boiler Scrappage Scheme was launched in England on 5th January 2010. Its aim was to stimulate the replacement of old ‘G‐rated’ boilers with energy efficient models through a voucher scheme. The Energy Saving Trust was invited to administer the scheme at short notice (mid‐December 2009 for an early January launch). The scheme had a number of strategic objectives:

• help sustain work for the 130,000 installers and over 25 UK‐based boiler manufacturers throughout the economic recovery
• save money - a householder’s energy bill could be cut by between £200 and 235 a year
• save carbon - replacing 125,000 G rated boilers should save in the region of 140,000 tCO2 per year

This report, conducted by the Energy Saving Trust’s internal performance evaluation team, provides an analysis of the scheme based on survey research, supplemented with internal administrative data.

The Boiler Scrappage Scheme was extremely popular. After the launch by the Prime Minster, all available scrappage vouchers were allocated within 3 months. The scheme was administered in the following stages:

• applicants firstly needed to get a quote from an installer for replacing their boiler;
• they then applied for a voucher (on‐line or through the Energy Saving Trust Advice Centres);
• on installation, the installer validated the voucher; followed by
• a claiming stage where the voucher was exchanged for £400.

To evaluate the scheme, a survey of successful claimants was undertaken. The following provides the results (some more limited research on unsuccessful claimants is also provided in Annex 2).