Energy Ministry to subsidize replacing inefficient boilers

Old water boilers will now join aging refrigerators, air conditioners and light bulbs in the Energy and Water Ministry’s ongoing effort to subsidize the replacement of electricity-guzzling machinery.

The ministry published a tender on Wednesday seeking water heater providers to supply the replacement models that will both be cost-effective and energy-efficient. The selected suppliers will replace about 14,500 old electric water boilers throughout the country with their solar counterparts.

The project will cost NIS 13 million, and the ministry will be subsidizing about 35 percent of the price of the new systems.

Suppliers participating in the exchange project will be responsible for providing installation and maintenance according to an eight-year warranty, and will dismantle the old boilers and transfer them for disposal.

“We continue with consistency in an unprecedented process, in which the government continues to assist its citizens in purchasing energy-efficient appliances, with the goal of reducing consumption in favor of the energy market security of Israel,” said Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau.

“In this case, in addition to the double profit to the citizen – once by a large subsidy in the price for purchasing a new solar boiler, and once through annual savings on electric bills – we are advancing another step toward the expansion of solar energy utilization.”

The project is intended for apartments located within four floors from the roof, in buildings with no legal impediment against installing solar heaters, the ministry stressed. Replacing the boilers is expected to lead to energy savings of about NIS 26m. kilowatt-hours per year, for a total savings of about NIS 260m. over the lives of the products, estimated at eight to 10 years, according to the ministry.

Individually, customers should save about NIS 1,000 annually on their water bills.