The picture of the inefficient heat main which appeared on the front of the Ofgem RHI newsletter

On Monday Ofgem published its first quarterly report on uptake and progress of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

Most of the coverage has been around the fact that only 20 installations have been accredited between 28 November 2011 and 31 March 2012 and that 95 per cent of all applications have been returned by the regulator. There is now doubt the system needs to be improved if the RHI is to deliver anything like it’s targets.

However, I was equally concerned by something that other reporters don’t seem to have picked up. On the front page of the RHI Update for April, is a picture (see left) of a heat main melting snow above the surface of a gravel yard.

Surely if the insulation is so poor, or the heat main is so shallow, it will be loosing perfectly good heat, or is this a deliberate ploy on the part of the installer to pump surplus heat to the atmosphere and claim a higher RHI subsidy?

Answers on a postcard please…

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