On Thursday, the Flemish Government decided to stop giving out premiums for home batteries earlier than planned next year: people with an inspection certificate will no longer be eligible for a premium from 31 March 2023.
Having a home battery allows people to store the unconsumed power generated by their solar panels to use when there is no sun. Due to the abolition of the reverse counter as well as the high prices for electricity, home batteries have gained popularity in recent years.
Last year, nearly 19,000 premiums for home batteries were requested in Flanders, compared to just 337 in 2020. This year so far, almost 20,000 premiums have already been applied for – a number that is expected to rise over 30,000 by the end of the year, according to the cabinet of Flemish Energy Minister Zuhal Demir, accounting for a budget of €45 million.
People who purchase a home battery will receive a premium of up to €1,725 in Flanders. Next year, this amount will halve to a maximum of €850. However, those who only have their installation inspected after 31 March 2023 will no longer be entitled to any premium at all.
Not interesting for everyone
"An evaluation shows that the premium is not really needed to encourage citizens to buy a home battery," Flemish Energy Minister Zuhal Demir said in a press release. "Experts and also consumer protection organisation Test-Achats raised the point several times that the premium does not help and that maintaining it implies that a home battery is interesting for everyone, which is not the case."
Budget-wise, a lot of resources that can be used better and more efficiently go into this, Demir said. "And since money does not grow on trees, we have to make choices."
With the money released, the premium for a heat pump boiler (which extracts heat from the air to heat domestic water and costs an average of €3.500) will be doubled, from €450 to €900, until the end of 2025. The measure is implemented retroactively since 1 July 2022, meaning that those who already received €450 after that date will receive an additional €450.
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According to Demir, a heat pump boiler is very interesting for those who currently heat their domestic hot water with an electric boiler. It is estimated that some 500,000 to 600,000 classic electric boilers are still in use in Flanders.
"Actually, a heat pump boiler should become the standard technology. We can no longer afford to continue using an energy-consuming classic electric boiler," she said. "With a simple intervention, we can drastically reduce electricity consumption."
Earlier this month, Demir already decided that support for installing solar panels will be maintained, but will be phased out according to the trajectory already decided since 2020. This means that installations inspected from 1 January 2023 will receive support of up to €750.
