logo
UK homes install subsidised heat pumps at record level

UK homes install subsidised heat pumps at record level

BBC News06-03-2025

The number of UK homes installing heat pumps supported by government-funded incentives rose to a record level last year.Figures released on Thursday showed 52% more of the low-carbon heating systems were installed than in 2023.Experts said part of the rise was due to an increase in the grant offered by the government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to persuade people to switch from gas boilers.But the heat pump industry warned that running costs needed to fall for the government to hit its targets to install hundreds of thousands of the devices each year as part of its Net Zero plan to tackle climate change.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: "The energy shocks of recent years have shown the urgent need to upgrade British homes and help more people benefit from homegrown energy."That's why we have almost doubled the budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to £295 million for the next financial year, and just launched a new campaign to help make more families aware of our offer of a £7,500 heat pump grant."
Most UK homes use gas boilers to meet their heating needs but gas is a fossil fuel that when burnt produces planet-warming gases. With home heating accounting for 14% of the UK's carbon emissions, switching households from gas boilers to heat pumps is a key part of the government's climate pledges.Heat pumps use electricity rather than gas, so as the country moves to generating electricity from renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, heat pumps will be responsible for far fewer planet-warming emissions than boilers.About half of heat pumps currently being installed in the UK are supported by government funding - the remainder are made up of commercial installations and new builds which do not receive support. One of the most popular government support mechanisms is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides a £7,500 grant to households to offset the cost of installation.Ed Matthews, UK programme director for think tank E3G, said the decision by the previous government to increase the grant by 50% has had the biggest impact on the installation figures."It has been absolutely critical for making it affordable for households to buy this technology," he said.In its first year, the scheme only spent a third of the funding allocated due to low public interest. But for 2024-2025 it is expected to overspend its budget.Mr Matthews said it was critical that in the government's June spending review recommits to the programme and provides greater funding for low-income households as the current costs - even with the grant - can be prohibitive. "They do not want to take their foot off the brake here. If they suddenly start slashing the heat pump grant that's going to make the market crash," he said.He also "strongly welcomed" the government's announcement on Thursday that it was launching a new communication campaign to build public understanding of heat pumps, which he hoped would combat misinformation about the technology.
Despite the progress, the total number of heat pump sales, including those not supported by government programmes, was just shy of 100,000 last year, according to the Heat Pump Association (HPA). This is significantly below the government's target of 600,000 a year by 2028.But Charlotte Lee, chief executive of the HPA, remained positive because of future planning policy changes expected later this year."The future homes and building standards will see the market move. 200,000 homes are potentially being built every year, [and] the vast majority of those will be required to have a heat pump - it will absolutely create a gear change in the market," she said.Madeleine Gabriel, head of sustainable mission at charity Nesta, agreed that changes to planning rules could also help to address the regional disparities in installation."The key thing is removing a rule that meant that you could only install a heat pump if you were more than one metre away from your property boundary, which made it difficult if you've got a small garden," she said.This explains why dense urban areas, like London, has some of the lowest installation rates as a large share of people live in flats, she added.
Ms Gabriel and Mr Matthews agreed with the UK government's independent climate advisors, the UK Climate Change Committee (UKCCC), that the biggest barrier is the high price of electricity.In a major report published last month, the UKCCC said that the cost of electricity could be brought down if the levies applied to electricity bills, to fund the cost of social and environment schemes, were removed or placed on gas bills. "Once the consumer can save money [with heat pumps], I think it really changes the level of interest. We're moving from early adopters that think it's the right thing to do to, actually, this is just a sensible financial investment choice," Ms Lee said.Additional reporting by Justin Rowlatt.
Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to get exclusive insight on the latest climate and environment news from the BBC's Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, delivered to your inbox every week. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Fresh Florian Wirtz transfer talks emerge as Leverkusen eye Liverpool star
Fresh Florian Wirtz transfer talks emerge as Leverkusen eye Liverpool star

Daily Mirror

time38 minutes ago

  • Daily Mirror

Fresh Florian Wirtz transfer talks emerge as Leverkusen eye Liverpool star

Liverpool are already making moves in the transfer market as they seek more star power to bolster Arne Slot's title-winning squad ahead of the upcoming 2025-26 campaign Liverpool mean business in the summer transfer window. And after swiftly securing a replacement for the outgoing Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Reds are now closing in on a British record transfer. Arne Slot and Co are in a strong position after winning the Premier League and will be out to defend their domestic crown. The Dutchman will be given the funds to strengthen the squad after predominantly working with the same group of players he inherited from Jurgen Klopp last summer. ‌ While the focus is on incomings, a number of outgoings are expected, too. Darwin Nunez could be the biggest name to depart with Liverpool weighing up a move for a new No.9. ‌ With things heating up, Mirror Football rounds up all the latest transfer news and gossip from in and around Anfield... READ MORE: Fresh Wirtz talks We're getting closer to a deal but talks between Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen are ongoing over the finer details of the monstrous package that will see Florian Wirtz head to Anfield. The Reds will not be meeting the £126million price tag that Leverkusen have slapped on their sought-after star. But they are prepared to offer the Bundesliga outfit a guaranteed £100m, with the deal likely to eclipse the current British transfer record with add-ons. Talks are set to continue with a deal edging closer... Leverkusen eye Quansah There has been plenty of speculation that players could be included in a deal to get Wirtz over the line and Bayer Leverkusen have now been credited with an interest in Jarrel Quansah. ‌ The Athletic have confirmed that the £40million-rated centre half is indeed on the German outfit's radar, with Leverkusen in the market for a new defender. Any deal for Quansah would be separate to the blockbuster one involving Wirtz, who will likely become the most expensive Premier League player of all-time should a move to Anfield be finalised. Leverkusen are in the market for a new central defender after losing Jonathan Tah on a free transfer to Bayern Munich. Kerkez gets green light for move ‌ Milos Kerkez has been given the green light to join Liverpool - by his Bournemouth team-mate, Justin Kluivert. Kerkez is known to be the Reds' top target as they seek another left-back. Talks over a deal with one of the Cherries' star performers are ongoing with Kerkez keen on joining Arne Slot's side. And Kluivert has now told Voetbal Primeur: 'He'll probably go there. I hope so for him. He hasn't really said goodbye yet, but I hope he'll make it happen there.'

UK issues unusual 'rising tensions' warning as US orders diplomatic evacuations
UK issues unusual 'rising tensions' warning as US orders diplomatic evacuations

Daily Mirror

time4 hours ago

  • Daily Mirror

UK issues unusual 'rising tensions' warning as US orders diplomatic evacuations

The Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British maritime security agency, has taken measures following Donald Trump's move to issue evacuation orders for non-essential personnel The UK has issued an "unusual warning" to its commercial ships in the Middle East amid "rising tensions". The Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) fears "an escalation of military activity" is on the cards across the region, and believs security may be at risk. It says vessels must use the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Straits of Hormuz, all of which pass Iran, with caution for the forseeable future. ‌ Iran publicly threatened to attack US military bases in the Middle East if they were attacked first. Donald Trump added fuel to the fire yesterday, crassly stating the country will never have a nuclear weapon whether a deal is reached or not. ‌ 'UKMTO has been made aware of increased tensions within the region which could lead to an escalation of military activity having a direct impact on mariners. Vessels are advised to transit the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Straits of Hormuz with caution," the UKMTO said today. The Trump administration has issued evacuation orders for non-essential personnel at the US Embassy in Iraq, and its diplomatic facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also told FOX News there would be voluntary departure for dependents of military personnel serving in the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations across the Middle East. This discourse led to the UKMTO advisory today as regional tensions surged. Iranian officials appeared to be responding to calls from hawks in the US to dismantle Iran's nuclear program by force if necessary. But Mr Trump was pessimistic when interviewed earlier this week. The US President said: "I don't know. I'm less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made." He spoke on the podcast Pod Force One on Monday, which explored in depth the tense situation across the Middle East. Meanwhile, suspected US airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen killed at least three people recently. Yemeni rebels said they shot down a £25m Reaper attack drone during April's onslaught, which indicated a possible US attack on Iran. It happened after the US moved six of its prized B-2 Strategic Stealth bombers to the secretive Indo-Pacific island base of Diego Garcia. Hours after the surprise announcement of the Washington-Tehran talks, Iran's foreign minister said the conversation in Oman would be "indirect" but could be "as much an opportunity as... a test." Mr Trump - who pulled the US out a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers during his first term - said discussions would be at "very high level," as he delivered his warning to Tehran.

Imperialism still overshadows our intellectual history
Imperialism still overshadows our intellectual history

Spectator

time5 hours ago

  • Spectator

Imperialism still overshadows our intellectual history

Peter Watson begins his survey of the history of ideas in Britain with the assertion that the national mindset (which at that time was the English mindset) changed significantly after the accession of Elizabeth I. His book – a guide to the nature of British intellectual curiosity since the mid-16th century – begins there, just as England had undergone a liberation from a dominant European authority: the shaking off of the influence of the Roman Catholic church and the advent of the Reformation, and the new opportunities that offered for the people. He describes how a culture based largely on poetry and on the court of Elizabeth then redirected the prevailing intellectual forces of the time. This affected not just literature (Marlowe, Shakespeare and Jonson) but also helped develop an interest in science that grew remarkably throughout the next few centuries. The 'imagination' of Watson's title is not merely the creative artistic imagination, but also that of scientists and inventors and, indeed, of people adept at both. The book is, according to its footnotes, based on secondary sources, so those well read in the history of the intellect in Britain since the Reformation will find much that is familiar. There is the odd surprise, such as one that stems from the book's occasional focus on the British empire and the need felt today to discuss its iniquities. Watson writes that the portion of the British economy based on the slave trade (which must not be conflated with empire) was between 1 per cent and 1.4 per cent. He also writes that for much of the era of slavery the British had a non-racial view of it, since their main experience of the odious trade was of white people being captured by Barbary pirates and held to ransom. While this cannot excuse the barbarism endured by Africans shipped by British (and other) slavers across the Atlantic, it lends some perspective to a question in serious danger of losing any vestige of one. Watson does not come down on one side or the other in the empire debate, eschewing the 'balance sheet' approach taken by historians such as Nigel Biggar and Niall Ferguson; but he devotes too much of the last section of his book to the question, when other intellectual currents in the opening decades of the 21st century might have been more profitably explored, not least the continuing viability of democracy. Earlier on, he gives much space to an analysis of Edward Said, and questions such as whether Jane Austen expressed her antipathy to slavery sufficiently clearly in the novel Mansfield Park. But then some of Watson's own analyses of writers and thinkers are not always easily supported. He is better on the 18th century – dealing well with the Scottish enlightenment (giving a perfectly nuanced account of Adam Smith) and writers such as Burke and Gibbon – than he appears to be on the 19th. He gives Carlyle his due, but cites an article in a learned American journal from 40 years ago to justify his claim that Carlyle's 'reputation took a knock' in 1849 with the publication of his Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question. Watson says readers were offended by the use of the term 'Quashee' to describe a black man. They may well, if so, have been unsettled by the still less palatable title that the Discourse was subsequently given, which was The Nigger Question: it appeared thus in a 1853 pamphlet and in the Centenary Edition of Carlyle's works in 1899. That indicates the Discourse did Carlyle's reputation no lasting harm at the time, whatever it may have done since. In seeking to pack so much into fewer than 500 pages of text, Watson does skate over a few crucial figures. Some of his musings on empire might have been sacrificed to make more space for George Orwell, for example. A chapter in whose title his name appears features just one brief paragraph on him, about Homage to Catalonia, and later there is a page or so on Animal Farm, which says nothing new. Of Orwell's extensive and mould-breaking journalism there is nothing – somewhat surprising in a book about the British imagination when dealing with one of its leading exponents of the past century. Watson emphasises scientific discovery and innovation, and the effect on national life and ideas caused by the Industrial Revolution. These are all essential consequences of our intellectual curiosity, and he is right to conclude that the historic significance of Britain in these fields is immense. He includes league tables of Nobel prizewinners by nation in which Britain shows remarkably well. But these prizes are not the only means by which the contribution to civilisation and progress by a people are measured. There are notable omissions. Although Watson talks about the elitist nature of 'high culture' – such as Eliot and The Waste Land – he does not discuss how far the British imagination, and the British contribution to world civilisation, might have advanced had we taken the education of the masses more seriously earlier. We were, until the Butler Education Act of 1944, appalling at developing our human resources, and have not been much better since. It is surprising that there is no discussion of British music, one of the greatest fruits of the imagination of the past 150 years. And there is no analysis of the role of architecture, which, given its impact and its centrality to many people's idea of themselves as British, surely merited examination. The book shows extensive and intelligent reading, but trying to cram so much information and commentary into one volume has not been a complete success, or resulted in something entirely coherent.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store