Latest news with #MCS
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Heat pump installations 90pc below Miliband's target
Heat pump installations are falling short of Ed Miliband's targets, with just 30,000 fitted to British homes in the past six months – far below an annual goal of 600,000. On Wednesday, new data from the UK's main renewables trade body found that households increased the number of heat pumps installed over the past year – but it still remains 90pc below the Government's target on an annual basis. More than 172,000 small-scale renewables – which includes batteries, solar panels as well as heat pumps – were installed between January and June this year, mostly in homes, according to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) data. It represents a 37pc increase. Of this, the most popular renewable technology is solar panels, with 123,000 installations in the first six months of this year. Ian Rippin, the chief executive of MCS, said: 'Across all renewable technologies, we are seeing a dramatic rise in the number of installations being delivered into homes, helping to reduce energy bills for consumers and drive down emissions. However, the figures illustrates the yawning gulf between the Government's ambitions for renewables and the still-glacial pace at which they are being installed. The UK has 25 million homes heated by gas boilers, and another two million that rely on oil. At the current installation rate it would take 150 years to equip them all with renewable heating technologies. Mike Foster, the chief executive of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, a trade body for heating installers, said the main factor supporting heat pump installations was the Boiler Upgrade Scheme subsidy – worth up to £7,500 per home and paid for by taxpayers and energy bill levies. 'It means that we have a Labour Government which should be progressive, taking money from the poor and giving it to the well-off, so they can boast about their green credentials. I don't believe people voted Labour for this to happen,' he said. Ofgem data show that the Government has paid out £328m in subsidies to home owners installing 49,136 low carbon heating products. Heat pumps are, however, highly efficient, delivering up to four units of heat for each unit of electricity needed to run them. Grants for their installation stem from Ofgem's boiler upgrade scheme, which was introduced in May 2022 as a way of reducing the 68 million tonnes of CO2 emitted annually from home heating – about 18pc of UK emissions. The aim is to eventually replace all boilers with such low-carbon heating systems, which extract heat from the environment and then use electricity to transfer the heat into people's homes via radiators, underfloor heating or as hot water. But there is a huge financial barrier to achieving that aim, as heat pump installations typically cost £14,000. That means that, even with grants up to £7,500, installing new heat pumps remains more expensive than replacing gas boilers, which usually costs between £2,000 and £4,000. The MCS said that, with the Future Homes standard set to mandate solar panels and low carbon heating in new-build homes from 2027, there was massive potential for growth in the low carbon tech industry – as the Government attempts to boost house building. Its figures also show that there were almost 50,000 renewable installations on newly built properties, accounting for 28pc of the total for the year so was significantly up on the first half of 2024, when they made up 21pc of the 125,000 installations overall. Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy minister, has claimed that people can save 'hundreds of pounds off their energy bills' with solar panels, heat pumps and batteries. Mr Foster disagreed. 'We have the bizarre situation of giving subsidies to well-off households to buy heat pumps, the vast majority of which are imported, replacing boilers which are mostly made in the UK. 'And if the British boiler manufacturer doesn't install the government quota of heat pumps, they get fined. The industry reckons this year alone fines will be close to £30m. 'The British public is ultimately having to pay those fines through higher prices on the boilers they buy, which is of course the intention. Ministers can't make heat pumps cheaper, so they are making boilers more expensive instead.' Meanwhile, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two more ads for misleading consumers about the costs of installing heat pumps. It found that ads for home heating supplier Aira and EDF Energy both omitted information about the eligibility criteria for Government funding. It comes a week after the ASA banned an ad for Octopus Energy for misleading consumers with claims that they could have a heat pump installed for as little as £500. 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. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
STV News
4 days ago
- Business
- STV News
Record installations of solar panels, batteries and heat pumps so far in 2025
A record number of solar panels, batteries and heat pumps have been installed in UK homes and buildings in the first six months of 2025, figures show. Data from MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme), the quality mark for small-scale renewables, found there were more than 172,000 certified installations between January and June this year. That is up 37% from the same period in 2024 and a third above the previous record high start to the year, in 2023, the figures show. The MCS said the jump in installations was being driven by three technologies: solar panels, electric heat pumps and battery storage. The top technology is solar panels, with 123,000 certified installations in the first six months of 2025 – a record that breaks the previous January-to-June high set in 2012. There were more than 18,000 installations of batteries, which can allow households to capture excess power from solar panels or charge up from the grid when electricity is cheap and then use it at more expensive peak times to cut bills. The figure is more than double the near 8,000 batteries installed in the same period in 2024, the MCS said. Meanwhile, certified installations of highly efficient heat pumps, which run on electricity to draw heat from the air or ground to warm homes and heat water, reached 30,000 in the first half of the year, up 12% on the first half of 2024. An air source heat pump outside a house in the UK / Credit: Alamy/PA The figures also show that there were almost 50,000 renewable installations on newbuild properties, accounting for 28% of the total for the year so far, and significantly up on the first half of 2024, when they made up 21% of the 125,000 installations overall. The MCS said that, with the Future Homes Standard set to mandate solar panels and low carbon heating in newbuild homes from 2027, there was massive potential for growth in the low carbon tech industry as the Government attempts to boost house building. And the organisation said one of the key drivers behind the increasing number of renewable installations was government financial support, through schemes such as the £7,500 grant for new heat pumps to replace boilers in homes. The latest available figures from January to March show that about three quarters of heat pump installations were wholly or partially supported with government funding. Ian Rippin, chief executive at MCS, said: 'Across all renewable technologies, we are seeing a dramatic rise in the number of installations being delivered into homes, helping to reduce energy bills for consumers and drive down emissions. 'Crucially, there are also more MCS certified installers than ever before, which means a growing capacity to deliver high-quality installations at volume into people's homes.' Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister for energy consumers, said: 'People can save hundreds of pounds off their energy bills when installing renewable and low-carbon technologies like solar panels, heat pumps and batteries. 'So, it is no wonder that installations in the first six months of 2025 have broken records, as households recognise it just makes financial sense.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Heat pump installations 90pc below Miliband's target
Heat pump installations are falling short of Ed Miliband's targets, with just 30,000 fitted to British homes in the past six months – far below an annual goal of 600,000. On Wednesday, new data from the UK's main renewables trade body found that households increased the number of heat pumps installed over the past year – but it still remains 90pc below the Government's target on an annual basis. More than 172,000 small-scale renewables – which includes batteries, solar panels as well as heat pumps – were installed between January and June this year, mostly in homes, according to the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) data. It represents a 37pc increase. Of this, the most popular renewable technology is solar panels, with 123,000 installations in the first six months of this year. Ian Rippin, the chief executive of MCS, said: 'Across all renewable technologies, we are seeing a dramatic rise in the number of installations being delivered into homes, helping to reduce energy bills for consumers and drive down emissions. However, the figures illustrates the yawning gulf between the Government's ambitions for renewables and the still-glacial pace at which they are being installed. The UK has 25 million homes heated by gas boilers, and another two million that rely on oil. At the current installation rate it would take 150 years to equip them all with renewable heating technologies. Mike Foster, the chief executive of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, a trade body for heating installers, said the main factor supporting heat pump installations was the Boiler Upgrade Scheme subsidy – worth up to £7,500 per home and paid for by taxpayers and energy bill levies. 'It means that we have a Labour Government which should be progressive, taking money from the poor and giving it to the well-off, so they can boast about their green credentials. I don't believe people voted Labour for this to happen,' he said. Ofgem data show that the Government has paid out £328m in subsidies to home owners installing 49,136 low carbon heating products. Heat pumps are, however, highly efficient, delivering up to four units of heat for each unit of electricity needed to run them. Grants for their installation stem from Ofgem's boiler upgrade scheme, which was introduced in May 2022 as a way of reducing the 68 million tonnes of CO2 emitted annually from home heating – about 18pc of UK emissions. The aim is to eventually replace all boilers with such low-carbon heating systems, which extract heat from the environment and then use electricity to transfer the heat into people's homes via radiators, underfloor heating or as hot water. But there is a huge financial barrier to achieving that aim, as heat pump installations typically cost £14,000. That means that, even with grants up to £7,500, installing new heat pumps remains more expensive than replacing gas boilers, which usually costs between £2,000 and £4,000. The MCS said that, with the Future Homes standard set to mandate solar panels and low carbon heating in new-build homes from 2027, there was massive potential for growth in the low carbon tech industry – as the Government attempts to boost house building. Its figures also show that there were almost 50,000 renewable installations on newly built properties, accounting for 28pc of the total for the year so was significantly up on the first half of 2024, when they made up 21pc of the 125,000 installations overall. Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy minister, has claimed that people can save 'hundreds of pounds off their energy bills' with solar panels, heat pumps and batteries. Mr Foster disagreed. 'We have the bizarre situation of giving subsidies to well-off households to buy heat pumps, the vast majority of which are imported, replacing boilers which are mostly made in the UK. 'And if the British boiler manufacturer doesn't install the government quota of heat pumps, they get fined. The industry reckons this year alone fines will be close to £30m. 'The British public is ultimately having to pay those fines through higher prices on the boilers they buy, which is of course the intention. Ministers can't make heat pumps cheaper, so they are making boilers more expensive instead.' Meanwhile, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two more ads for misleading consumers about the costs of installing heat pumps. It found that ads for home heating supplier Aira and EDF Energy both omitted information about the eligibility criteria for Government funding. It comes a week after the ASA banned an ad for Octopus Energy for misleading consumers with claims that they could have a heat pump installed for as little as £500.
South Wales Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Record installations of solar panels, batteries and heat pumps so far in 2025
Data from MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme), the quality mark for small-scale renewables, found there were more than 172,000 certified installations between January and June this year. That is up 37% from the same period in 2024 and a third above the previous record high start to the year, in 2023, the figures show. The MCS said the jump in installations was being driven by three technologies: solar panels, electric heat pumps and battery storage. The top technology is solar panels, with 123,000 certified installations in the first six months of 2025 – a record that breaks the previous January-to-June high set in 2012. There were more than 18,000 installations of batteries, which can allow households to capture excess power from solar panels or charge up from the grid when electricity is cheap and then use it at more expensive peak times to cut bills. The figure is more than double the near 8,000 batteries installed in the same period in 2024, the MCS said. Meanwhile, certified installations of highly efficient heat pumps, which run on electricity to draw heat from the air or ground to warm homes and heat water, reached 30,000 in the first half of the year, up 12% on the first half of 2024. The figures also show that there were almost 50,000 renewable installations on newbuild properties, accounting for 28% of the total for the year so far, and significantly up on the first half of 2024, when they made up 21% of the 125,000 installations overall. The MCS said that, with the Future Homes Standard set to mandate solar panels and low carbon heating in newbuild homes from 2027, there was massive potential for growth in the low carbon tech industry as the Government attempts to boost house building. And the organisation said one of the key drivers behind the increasing number of renewable installations was government financial support, through schemes such as the £7,500 grant for new heat pumps to replace boilers in homes. The latest available figures from January to March show that about three quarters of heat pump installations were wholly or partially supported with government funding. Ian Rippin, chief executive at MCS, said: 'Across all renewable technologies, we are seeing a dramatic rise in the number of installations being delivered into homes, helping to reduce energy bills for consumers and drive down emissions. 'Crucially, there are also more MCS certified installers than ever before, which means a growing capacity to deliver high-quality installations at volume into people's homes.' Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister for energy consumers, said: 'People can save hundreds of pounds off their energy bills when installing renewable and low-carbon technologies like solar panels, heat pumps and batteries. 'So, it is no wonder that installations in the first six months of 2025 have broken records, as households recognise it just makes financial sense.'
North Wales Chronicle
4 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Record installations of solar panels, batteries and heat pumps so far in 2025
Data from MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme), the quality mark for small-scale renewables, found there were more than 172,000 certified installations between January and June this year. That is up 37% from the same period in 2024 and a third above the previous record high start to the year, in 2023, the figures show. The MCS said the jump in installations was being driven by three technologies: solar panels, electric heat pumps and battery storage. The top technology is solar panels, with 123,000 certified installations in the first six months of 2025 – a record that breaks the previous January-to-June high set in 2012. There were more than 18,000 installations of batteries, which can allow households to capture excess power from solar panels or charge up from the grid when electricity is cheap and then use it at more expensive peak times to cut bills. The figure is more than double the near 8,000 batteries installed in the same period in 2024, the MCS said. Meanwhile, certified installations of highly efficient heat pumps, which run on electricity to draw heat from the air or ground to warm homes and heat water, reached 30,000 in the first half of the year, up 12% on the first half of 2024. The figures also show that there were almost 50,000 renewable installations on newbuild properties, accounting for 28% of the total for the year so far, and significantly up on the first half of 2024, when they made up 21% of the 125,000 installations overall. The MCS said that, with the Future Homes Standard set to mandate solar panels and low carbon heating in newbuild homes from 2027, there was massive potential for growth in the low carbon tech industry as the Government attempts to boost house building. And the organisation said one of the key drivers behind the increasing number of renewable installations was government financial support, through schemes such as the £7,500 grant for new heat pumps to replace boilers in homes. The latest available figures from January to March show that about three quarters of heat pump installations were wholly or partially supported with government funding. Ian Rippin, chief executive at MCS, said: 'Across all renewable technologies, we are seeing a dramatic rise in the number of installations being delivered into homes, helping to reduce energy bills for consumers and drive down emissions. 'Crucially, there are also more MCS certified installers than ever before, which means a growing capacity to deliver high-quality installations at volume into people's homes.' Miatta Fahnbulleh, minister for energy consumers, said: 'People can save hundreds of pounds off their energy bills when installing renewable and low-carbon technologies like solar panels, heat pumps and batteries. 'So, it is no wonder that installations in the first six months of 2025 have broken records, as households recognise it just makes financial sense.'
