Two heat pump adverts banned for ‘misleading' customers over £7,500 grant
EDF Energy and home heating supplier, Aira, were each ordered to take down separate adverts which neglected to highlight eligibility criteria for a government grant of up to £7,500 to fit a heat pump.
It comes a week after the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ordered Octopus Energy to remove an advert claiming it could install heat pumps for as little as £500, which was also judged to be misleading.
The Government's drive to reach net zero has involved pushing households to switch from gas boilers to heat pumps, even after Labour quietly ditched the Conservatives' target to have 600,000 fitted each year.
The Google ad for EDF stated: 'Get A £7,500 Grant – EDF Air Source Heat Pumps'. Aira's advert, on Meta platforms, stated: 'Ditch your gas boiler for an Aira heat pump today [...] £7,500 grant available'.
The watchdog said that both adverts 'gave the impression consumers would be automatically eligible to receive a government grant of £7,500, and it did not make clear the government funding for a heat pump was subject to eligibility'.
It added: 'We considered that was material information that should have been included. Because the ad omitted material information, we concluded it was likely to mislead.'
EDF Energy told the watchdog that its ad linked through to one of three landing pages on its website which contained all relevant information about the eligibility criteria for government heat pump funding.
Aira said its ad was only targeted at homeowners in England and Scotland, where £7,500 grants were available, adding that it did not believe a consumer would interpret the ad as meaning that the grants were given automatically.
Octopus Energy's online advert boasted that households could heat their homes without gas by switching to a heat pump 'from as little as £500'.
But the ASA said the advert 'was likely to mislead' because it omitted 'material information' and did not provide enough evidence that a typical consumer could have a heat pump installed by the company for £500.
Octopus Energy denied that the advert was misleading, and claimed to have used a predictive model based on energy performance certificates to underpin the claim made in the advert.
The Government's flagship Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers up to £7,500 to homeowners looking to install a ground or air source heat pump. However, official figures show that just 44,000 households used the scheme to install a heat pump last year.
Octopus Energy has played a key role in this heat pump push. The company, led by chief executive Greg Jackson, sells its own brand of heat pumps and runs a research and development facility in Slough to make them cheaper and easier to install.
Mike Foster, of the EUA trade body, said: 'With any new technology, or a technology that people aren't familiar with such as a heat pump, it's essential that those wishing to sell these products into people's homes are absolutely transparent with the costs and the benefits.
'Exaggerating the benefits or minimising the costs in any advert just brings the whole of the low-carbon industry into disrepute.'
An EDF Energy spokesman said: 'Neither the ASA or ourselves received any complaints about the advert, however, we accept their ruling as we are fully aligned to their objective of improving the clarity of customer communications.
'We have already updated our marketing accordingly and would have done so if requested as we take a collaborative approach. We have encouraged the ASA to reach out informally should they have any concerns in the future.'
Chris Collinson, chief executive of Aira UK, said: 'We are committed to providing complete transparency around the eligibility criteria and material information surrounding the availability of government grants for heat pumps in the UK, and to compliance with industry codes of conduct.
'Aira has taken immediate steps to address the points raised in ASA's ruling, ensuring that all advertising material clearly and consistently outlines the eligibility criteria required to apply for grants.
'Aira is committed to clear, transparent communication with our customers. Our intention has always been to raise awareness of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help as many households as possible benefit from it.'
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