The government has shared a range of proposed measures to boost heat pump roll out in order to make installation easier and cheaper.
The changes would mean varying grant levels depending on the customer’s property type or existing fuel source, making heat pump technology accessible to a wider range of people.
The proposals come as part of the government’s drive to decarbonise heating, with £81 million worth of vouchers issued to customers under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Minister for energy efficiency and green finance Lord Callanan said: “Heat pumps are a vital tool in cutting the carbon emissions from people heating their homes, while also helping to drive down costs and boosting our energy security”
“While a heat pump can be installed for a similar price to installing a gas boiler, the support we’ve put in place means it’s an option for more and more households”.
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UK gas boilers emit large amounts of CO2 and nitrogen dioxide emissions, with data shared prior to COP26 highlighting that they produce twice as much as the nation’s gas boilers combined.
However, campaigners have been calling out the plan for removing the need for insulation: “While the government is absolutely right to make the installation of heat pumps cheaper and more accessible, removing the need for insulation is cutting all the wrong corners,” said Greenpeace UK climate campaigner Georgia Whitaker.
“Insulation is the quickest and easiest way to slash household carbon emissions and reduce energy emissions and reduce energy use – saving people up to a thousand pound a year on their bills. Better insulation also makes heat pumps more efficient.”
“Rather than taking one step forward, two steps back, the government should be ramping up investment for both heat pumps and insulation – delivering a nationwide programme to make homes warmer, cleaner and cheaper to run side by side, not pitting one energy saving scheme against the other”.
Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove has also previously called for heat pump plans to be reviewed, stating last month that whilst Britain’s plans to ban all petrol and diesel cars by 2030 are ‘immovable’, but said the government needed to look at policies like heat pumps in more depth as they could create hassle and expense during the cost of living crisis.
Heat pumps have been a topic of much debate, with a recent BBC programme looking in to the technology provoking scathing criticism.
Recent data shared by The Telegraph newspaper highlighted that Britain has been among the nations who have been least keen to take up heat pumps, with less heat pumps installed than any of its OECD counterparts.
The government is consulting on the proposed new measures until October 12.
