Energy company BSOLAR believes green micro-CHP boilers could be "one of the best investments you can make", according to managing director Peter Bladen.

Bladen said: “Combined heat and power boilers are going to be one of the leading green technologies for the home in the coming years and have the backing of the government, qualifying for the green Feed-in Tariff (FiT) incentive scheme.

“These boilers will currently save you £200 off your electricity bill a year and, through the government’s FIT scheme, you will also receive 10.5 pence for every Kwh of energy you generate, whether you use it or not. In a year, an average system should generate £250 through the FiT scheme, so the combined savings and income should be about £450 annually.”

Greg Barker MP, the Minister for Energy & Climate Change, has also signalled the government’s intention to increase the tariff rate for these systems. He said “Micro-CHP can play a much larger role in driving the decentralised energy revolution…there are few homes that couldn’t benefit.”   

Bladen added: “Micro-CHP now offers an even better return on investment than solar PV panels. With the government’s plans to raise the tariff, these boilers offer a great return on investment.

“Even if the government doesn’t increase the FIT rate, the savings from these boilers over 10 years are potentially huge. Over the past five years the price of electricity has more than doubled and is expected to double every five years; as a result your savings will become greater and greater as time goes on.

"A £200 a year saving now will be a £400 a year saving in five years. We typically expect over 10 years for the system to generate at least £10,000 in savings and FiT income. There aren’t many boilers you can buy which pay for themselves and generate a healthy profit.”