Britons benefitting from boiler scrappage scheme

After years of struggling to cope with the sky-high bills generated by old and inefficient home heating systems, tens of thousands of families are set to benefit from a scheme that will give them £400 off the cost of a new boiler.

Aimed primarily at helping to reach Britain's ambitious carbon emission reduction targets, the scheme will see households given cash for trading in their old boilers.

Specifically, the scrappage scheme applies to homeowners as well as landlords who currently have G-rated appliances – namely, boilers over 15 years old and gas-fired – heating their property.

What's more, for homeowners over the age of 60, the old boiler doesn't even have to be in working order or be the main boiler of a home, meaning many pensioners could be in for a welcome cash windfall over the coming weeks and months.

Of course, given the cost of fitting a new boiler, a £400 'money-off voucher' still means that consumers will still be forced to dip into their pockets, with many likely to be tempted to stick with what they have got and look for savings elsewhere, such as wrapping up a bit warmer in the winter or going online and switching utilities suppliers.

However, according to the government's own estimates, the typical new boiler will start paying for itself in just a couple of years.

As well as cutting a home's carbon emissions, a new, energy-efficient boiler will cut an average annual energy bill by £200, experts believe.

On a less positive note, at present only households in England are set to benefit from the boiler scrappage scheme as the national assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland wait to decide whether they will be launching a similar initiative anytime soon.

Meanwhile, a number of local authorities are teaming up with energy experts in a bid to help households cut back on their bills