New Government proposals could make it easier and cheaper for households and businesses to install heat pumps.
Proposed measures could lead to varying the levels of available grants, depending on the customer’s property type or existing fuel source.
This would make heat pump installations more affordable for more households and small businesses, enabling them to benefit from the low-cost and low-carbon heating source.
Households could also be presented with a simpler way to qualify for a heat pump grant by removing the requirement to first install loft or cavity wall insulation.
These proposed changes will “help more homes and businesses move away from costly foreign fossil fuels and on to cleaner, cheaper homegrown energy – forming part of the government’s drive to decarbonise the nation’s heating, with more than £81 million in vouchers already issued to customers under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme”, said the Government.
The new proposals also provide “an additional option to help consumers install new biomass boilers that also work as an oven, helping more households access the latest in cutting-edge, green technology”.
Lord Callanan, minister for energy efficiency and green finance, 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.”
A heat pump takes heat at a low temperature from the air or ground and increases it to a higher temperature, before transferring the heat into buildings for heating and hot water. This technology is significantly more efficient than traditional boilers and uses cleaner electricity rather than fossil fuels – helping to reduce the carbon footprint of a building.
The government’s £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme was recently extended until 2028 and offers grants of £5,000 towards the installation of an air source heat pump; £6,000 off a ground source heat pump; and £5,000 off a biomass boiler. Consumers can also receive a zero VAT rate on installations.
Georgia Whitaker, Greenpeace UK’s climate campaigner, said: “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. Insulation is the quickest and easiest way to slash household carbon emissions and reduce energy use – saving people up to a thousand pounds 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.”
Alan King, Syntegra MD, said: “We welcome measures to make heat pumps more accessible for greater numbers of people and improve the country’s overall carbon footprint.
“We continue to work with clients interested in upgrading their heat source to reduce their emissions and boost sustainability in the built environment.”
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