“Zero Hour” to subsidize solar water heaters: with any VAT number, applications start today

The “Recycling – Water Heater Change” platform officially opened today (https://allazothermosifona.gov.gr/) with a budget of €100 million through the NSRF 2014-2020.

Those interested will be able to submit their application until Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at 3:00 pm, while the platform will gradually open to beneficiaries, depending on the last digit of the VAT number. More specifically, May 11th today will be the start with the VAT numbers ending with 1.2.

They are as follows:

12/5: VAT numbers ending in 1,2,3,4
13/5: VAT numbers ending in 1,2,3,4,5,6
14/5: VAT numbers ending in 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
15/5: VAT numbers ending in 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0

Through the new program, no less than 120,000 Greek families, which will benefit directly, will be able to obtain subsidies to replace energy-consuming electric water heaters with new solar water heaters, from modern technology. The benefit for them and the environment will be the reduction of at least 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. It is also calculated that the electricity consumption for hot water use will be reduced by approximately 65%.

It should be noted that in order to obtain support for the purchase of a new solar water heater, a withdrawal is required to recycle the old water heaters that are being replaced, and its characteristics include:

• to be functional before they withdraw.
• Before they can be replaced, they must be placed in the accommodation declared in the financing application.
• To be electric water heaters with a capacity of ≥ 40 liters.

To join the programme, beneficiaries must:

• To be domestic consumers who will have an electric water heater installed at their place of residence (not at a place of work).
• Applications must be submitted by natural individuals who were born before January 1, 2006 and are permanently residing in Greece.
• Only one application must be submitted by each natural person.
• The average annual income of each family member of eligible beneficiaries must not exceed €30,000.
• Potential beneficiaries have not submitted an application or joined another energy saving program, such as “Execonomou – Autonomou” or “Execonomou 2021”.

ranking criteria

The final selection of beneficiaries will result from a combination of economic and social criteria:

• Average annual income for each family member.
• Families with disabled members.
• Single-parent families, with at least one dependent child.
• Families with dependents.

How much will be given to the beneficiaries

The subsidy is up to 60% of the purchase cost of each new solar water heater.

Each beneficiary will receive a voucher, which they can redeem at a supplier of their choice.

Installation costs are also included in the maximum grant amount for recipients.

The final value of each check depends on the characteristics of the solar water heater (hot water tank capacity) and its purchase price and is determined as follows: