Latest news with #BoilerUpgradeScheme
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What are heat pumps and how much do they cost?
A planning restriction that prevented heat pumps being installed within a metre of a neighbour's property has been removed. The government hopes the move will encourage more people to install the low-carbon technology. However, installation rates will need to increase substantially if the government wants to meet its target of 600,000 heat pumps being fitted each year by 2028. Planning change to make installing heat pump easier for millions Heat pumps run on electricity instead of gas. They warm buildings by absorbing and amplifying heat from the air, ground, or water. They are widely seen as the best way of cutting emissions of carbon dioxide - a planet-warming gas - from home heating, which accounts for 14% of the UK's carbon emissions. Heat pumps are more efficient than gas boilers and can use electricity generated from increasingly clean sources, as wind and solar power replace polluting fossil fuels. Air-source pumps - the most common type - suck in outdoor air and pass it over tubes containing refrigerant fluids which concentrate and boost the warmth to produce heat. The system consists of a box measuring about 1m x 1m x 0.4m which stands outside the property, as well as a heat pump unit and hot water cylinder inside the property. The indoor unit is about the size of a gas boiler, while the cylinder depends on the size of the home. Ground-source heat pumps are more efficient than air-source models. However, they are typically more expensive and less commonly used, as they require either a deep bore hole or a horizontal system dug into the ground over a large area. An air-source heat pump typically costs about £10,000 more than a gas boiler, according to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC). Installation costs can vary greatly depending on the changes needed to fit the pump into a property. To encourage people to make the switch, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides a grant of £7,500 to help with the extra costs in England and Wales. However, the UK's spending watchdog warned in 2024 that costs remain too high for many. The grant can be used for existing homes and non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. The property must have an eligible Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), issued in the last 10 years. Changes to the rules mean homes are no longer required to have existing loft or cavity wall insulation, which could save around £2,500 in upfront costs. A well-insulated home can help a heat pump perform more efficiently. The scheme is not available if you live in social housing or a new-build property. Tenants in private rented accommodation are also eligible but the landlord has to apply. Scotland, external and Northern Ireland, external have separate schemes to help make homes more efficient. Check if you are eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Ofgem: Upgrading your boiler Find a certified installer While the upfront costs are currently substantial, heat pumps could become cheaper to run than gas boilers, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the UK government on cutting emissions. The cost depends on individual energy prices and how efficiently the heat pump works. Electric heat pumps use much less energy than gas boilers, but electricity typically costs more than gas. Energy deals designed for heat pump owners can also help households make savings. The CCC has called on the government to prioritise making electricity cheaper for everyone, which would make heat pumps more attractive. Previously, homeowners needed planning permission if they wanted to put a heat pump within one metre of their neighbour's property - because of concerns over noise. The rule was dropped in May to accelerate the uptake of heat pumps. Concerns over noise are also less of an issue with newer devices, though units will still be required to be below a certain volume level. The level has been set at 42db which is a similar output to that of a fridge. The planning changes also include a relaxation of the rules for the size and number of heat pumps households can install. Rates of heat pump installation in the UK are lower than in other major European countries, such as France, Germany and Italy. But sales are increasing. Nearly 100,000 heat pumps were sold in 2024, up from about 60,000 in 2023, according to the Heat Pump Association. However, the CCC says this number needs to rise to nearly 450,000 a year by 2030 and 1.5 million by 2035 to help meet climate targets. It says around half of UK homes need to have heat pumps by 2040. Significantly more trained heat pump installers are needed to achieve this. There is no requirement to replace your existing boiler before the end of its life. Households can still buy a new gas boiler if they wish. However, the CCC recommends that all new home heating should be low-carbon after 2035. Most of this will mean using heat pumps, but it acknowledges that other approaches may be more appropriate in some cases - such as direct electric heating in homes with lower heat demand. But the CCC wants the government to rule out the possible use of hydrogen in home heating to provide certainty to customers and industry. A simple guide to climate change Four ways climate change worsens extreme weather What you can do to reduce carbon emissions Sign up for our Future Earth newsletter to keep up with the latest climate and environment stories with the BBC's Justin Rowlatt. Outside the UK? Sign up to our international newsletter here.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Workers could pay for heat pumps using salary sacrifice
Homeowners who ditch their gas boilers for a heat pump could pay back the cost of installation through salary sacrifice schemes under plans being considered by Ed Miliband. The proposal would allow salaried employees to repay their loan in monthly instalments that come out of their pre-tax income, saving money overall as they pay less towards national insurance and income tax. It would be similar to salary sacrifice schemes already in place for electric vehicles, which have been credited with boosting uptake among drivers. Mr Miliband, the Energy Secretary, is looking to expand the schemes on offer as a way of helping consumers with the similarly high costs of switching to a heat pump, according to energy companies. According to data provider MCS, the typical cost of installing an air source heat pump – the most common kind – is still about £5,500 after government grants are applied. On Monday, the Government did not rule out making salary sacrifice options available for heat pump purchases but it is understood there are no immediate plans being drawn up. The proposal would likely be more complicated to introduce than the equivalent EV scheme, however, given that heating systems are not typically leased. However, The Electric Car Scheme, which runs salary sacrifice schemes for client companies, said payments on a heat pump costing £14,760, spread over three years, could effectively be reduced from £410 to just £295 using the tax perk. Thom Groot, the chief executive of the company, said: 'We know that the government is seriously considering adding heat pumps to the hugely successful legislation covering salary sacrifice EVs and would welcome their introduction. 'Including these sustainable technologies would provide a meaningful boost to both our net zero goals and the economic growth that Rachel Reeves has made a central pillar of her policy.' Trevor Hutchings, the chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, added: 'The growing uptake of EVs has been driven in many cases by the hugely successful salary sacrifice provision that makes them cheaper for consumers. 'Extending this to include renewable technologies like heat pumps and solar could provide the industry with a much-needed boost, one that industry estimates could translate into roughly 600,000 Heat Pump and renewable heating installations by 2030.' A government spokesman said: 'We are helping more people install heat pumps, including with our £7,500 grant – and supporting industry to develop financing models that can remove the upfront cost entirely. 'We are consulting on expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to support new approaches, such as heat pump subscriptions, to help more households make the switch to cleaner heating in a way that works for them.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Daily Mirror
08-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Labour Party explains how it will cut £300 a year from UK energy bills
The Labour Party repeatedly made the pledge during its General Election campaign last year Labour has shed more light on its ambitious plan to slash energy bills by £300 annually by 2030. The party repeatedly touted this promise during its General Election campaign last year, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reaffirmed the commitment since taking office. SNP MP Seamus Logan queried the Government in Parliament about from what level the Government plans to bring down energy bills £300 when the change is achieved. Energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh responded, saying: "The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. "The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past." The Warm Homes Plan includes additional funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which offers grants to support the transition from fossil fuel heating systems to heat pumps or biomass boilers. Through this scheme, households can receive £7,500 towards an air source heat pump, £7,500 towards a ground source heat pump, or £5,000 towards a biomass boiler. Government figures indicate that switching to a heat pump could save families about £100 annually on energy bills in contrast to using a gas boiler, while insulating a home could result in even greater savings of roughly £200 a year. Ms Fahnbulleh further explained the Government's strategy, saying: "We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. "On February 25, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. "The consultation has now closed and the Department is evaluating the responses." The Warm Homes Discount offers a one-off £150 deduction from your electricity bill. Those who qualify include people on the Guarantee Credit portion of Pension Credit as well as those on a low income or who are receiving certain means-tested benefits. Ministers are considering broadening the scope of the discount to include everyone on means-tested benefits. Most of the time, eligible suppliers will automatically deduct the discount from your bill — the funds aren't transferred directly to you. These suppliers are part of the scheme: 100Green (formerly Green Energy UK or GEUK) Affect Energy – see Octopus Energy Boost British Gas Bulb Energy – see Octopus Energy Co-op Energy - see Octopus Energy E - also known as E (Gas and Electricity) Ecotricity Next EDF Fuse Energy Good Energy Home Energy London Power Octopus Energy Outfox the Market OVO Rebel Energy Sainsbury's Energy Scottish Gas – see British Gas ScottishPower Shell Energy Retail So Energy Tomato Energy TruEnergy Utilita Utility Warehouse.
Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Heat pump subsidies ‘go to rich homes that would buy them anyway'
Heat pump subsidies could waste up to £900 million of taxpayers' money, according to the government's own analysis. An evaluation of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has found that two in five homeowners who have benefited from the subsidy, which now amounts to £7,500 per heat pump, would have probably installed one regardless of whether they received the money. With the total cost of the scheme over its lifetime expected to reach £1.9 billion, that suggests £880 million of taxpayers' cash will be spent encouraging people to do something that they would have done anyway, making the outlay what economists call a 'dead weight loss'. The report also found that the scheme disproportionately benefited wealthier Britons,
Epoch Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
High Costs Still a Barrier to Heat Pump Uptake, Price Unlikely to Go Down, Experts Say
Experts say the high cost of installing heat pumps remains a significant barrier to adoption, and the technology is unlikely to become much cheaper in the future. Mike Foster, CEO of the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), told The Epoch Times that the high cost is partly because of the complexity of converting a home from a combi boiler system to one that is electric. He added that the price of the heat pump unit itself 'is never going to realistically become cheaper than it is,' as the technology is inherently more complex than that of a traditional boiler. British Gas The government has said that switching from a gas boiler to an electric heat pump could save homeowners £100 a year on their energy bills, when used with a 'smart tariff' which requires a smart meter being installed. Foster noted that smart tariffs 'are not the most common tariffs that people use' and the running cost of a heat pump remains an issue, particularly with electricity currently being around four times the price of gas per kilowatt-hour. Boiler Upgrade Scheme Designing an all-electric heating system involves more than just installing the main air-source unit. Homeowners also need a large hot water tank and bigger radiators to distribute heat effectively, as heat pumps operate at lower temperatures than traditional gas boilers. Homeowners may also need better insulation. Related Stories 11/22/2024 6/26/2024 There is help for people wanting to switch to low-carbon heating, through the government's A poll by the Heating Trading Networks also 'We have to acknowledge that heat pumps do reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, and we should be looking to do that. But the price that people are willing to pay towards that goal is not £13,000. That is the challenge that government has to try and address,' Foster said. Benefitting Wealthier People Foster said that heat pump sales were up last year, thanks in large part to the BUS. However, he said that the scheme is 'fundamentally flawed' because 'only the well off can afford to take part in the scheme and get the benefit of the taxpayer funded subsidy.' The EUA chief cited the previous government's assessment of the upgrade scheme, which Harry Wilkinson, head of policy at The Global Warming Policy Foundation, said that heat pumps are still not being chosen by most consumers. He told The Epoch Times: 'It's worthy of reflection of how green policies often benefit the wealthiest. This is a wealth transfer to very wealthy households. The government has to be thinking about whether that's a sensible use of its funds.' No 2035 Boiler Ban Domestic heating accounts for 14 percent of the UK's carbon emissions, and the government is encouraging homeowners to switch to electrified heating as part of its efforts for the UK to meet its net zero emissions pledge by 2050. The challenges of meeting this target appear to have been reflected by policy changes in the past year, such as the government In January, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed there would not be a Similarly, the Scottish Government cited affordability in its decision to Foster said these recent shifts showed that there is 'greater realism about the challenge of domestic heat and how you decarbonise it.' He noted that policy always evolves as circumstances change—both domestically and nationally—and that greater clarity on the government's stance will probably come when the Warm Homes Plan is published later this year. Make Electricity Cheaper Wilkinson said that when done right, heat pumps can reduce emissions and save money. However, those outcomes would become more viable if the government focused on the cost of electricity, rather than paying people to buy boilers, he said. 'The cost of electricity is pushing people away from heat pumps,' Wilkinson said. Wind turbines adorn the landscape in the Southern Lake District, in Lambrigg, England, on Nov. 25, continued: 'There has to be a realisation about the fact that we'll be using gas boilers for a very long time to come. There is a growing sense that getting the cost of electricity down is a key factor, and one policy makers should be focusing on.' Foster added that policy makers should diversify energy plans, which could include bio-methane, hydrogen, and hydrogen blending. 'It makes the potential of achieving net zero more realistic than the more dogmatic approach where everything should be electric. But that's for policymakers to determine,' he said. Blair's Criticisms Earlier this week, former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair appeared to deviate from Labour Party policy, when he argued that the current climate approach 'isn't working.' In the forward to a 'In developed countries, voters feel they're being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal,' he wrote. File photo of former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair during an interview on March 27, 2023. Victoria Jones/PA Wire The TBIC later Responding to a question over the apparent criticism from Blair, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer 'Tony Blair is absolutely aligned with what we are doing here. These are the jobs and the security of the future,' he said. Changing the System This week, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Measures also being considered include new purchase and ownership models which could spread the cost over a number of years or allow consumers to lease them for a monthly fee. Minister for energy consumers Miatta Fahnbulleh said the proposals would 'give working families more choice and flexibility to pick the low-carbon upgrades that work best for them.' The department said the BUS had seen its best month since the programme opened, with 4,028 applications in March, up 88 percent on the same month last year. The Epoch Times contacted the DESNZ for comment, but the department did not respond by time of publication.
