Back to top
Back to all articlesBack to all articles

Low-Income Households Should Get Free Heat Pumps, Experts Say

Energy suppliers and environmental groups are calling for a “fair heat deal” for low-income households, including the free installation of electric heat pumps and insulation to reduce emissions and energy bills.

Giving poorer households free low-carbon heating systems would kickstart the market for them, bringing down prices, a group of more than 20 organisations have argued in an open letter. Grants for other households could also help bring the cost of heat pumps in line with gas boilers.

Replacing the natural gas boilers that heat 85% of the UK’s home and improving the efficiency of our draughty, ageing housing stock will be necessary to the country’s decarbonisation goals. Currently, around 14% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from the heating of our domestic spaces.

While the government is also piloting projects using hydrogen for heat, electric heat pumps are thought to be the fastest route to low-carbon heat. However, their price tags—running to thousands of pounds with installation—have deterred many consumers. 

Just 26,000 low-carbon heating systems have been installed annually in recent years, a figure which must increase forty-fold, to 1.2 million by 2030, a recent report from Shell and Energy Systems Catapult said.

Mike Thornton, the chief executive of signatory the Energy Saving Trust, said: “For the UK to reach its net zero targets, we need real pace and scale in rolling out heat pumps. A fair heat deal will provide the confidence, clarity and certainty which will unlock the investment required for this.”

A “fair heat deal” would also include removing environmental taxes from electricity bills to ensure running a heat pump is cheaper than using a gas boiler. The government is already mulling reforming the levies on power bills. 

VAT should also be scrapped for green home products and their installation, while stamp duty could be curbed on homes already fitted with low-carbon heating systems.

The letter is signed by the Energy Saving Trust; energy suppliers E.ON, OVO, Good Energy; green groups Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, WWF and E3G; and organisations from the building sector.

 Juliet Phillips, a senior policy adviser at the E3G thinktank, said: “Moving from a gas boiler to a heat pump is one of the biggest carbon savings a household can make. But it must be affordable and we urge the government to support our fair heat deal to ensure no one is left behind in the green industrial revolution. If done right, the UK can lead the world in reducing carbon emissions from heat while slashing energy bills, boosting the economy and protecting the fuel poor.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said: “We are already leading the way to ensure affordability and fairness are at the heart of clean heating reforms, and more detail on our approach will be provided in the upcoming heat and buildings strategy.

“We are supporting lower income households and vulnerable people to make homes greener and cut energy bills, and will continue to do so through schemes such as the home upgrade grant and the new clean heat grant from April next year.”

However, recent government attempts to encourage the adoption of low-carbon heating technologies have floundered over mismanagement. The Green Home Grants scheme, which provided low-income households grants of up to £10,000 and other households vouchers to cover £5,000 of the most, was scrapped in March, having delivered just 10% of the promises 600,000 home upgrades.

Lauren Smith
Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith has worked as a journalist and copywriter for most of the last decade, covering technology, energy, and consumer rights, in the US and UK.

Read all articlesRead all articles

Read on our blog

With the government poised to implement tough new measures to...

TalkTalk Confirms Huge Bills Hikes from Friday
Broadband
30. 03. 2022 | Lauren Smith

Budget broadband provider TalkTalk has been notifying customers via email...

A year-long investigation by charity Citizens Advice has revealed a...

All English Schools Will Have Gigabit Broadband by 2025
Broadband
23. 03. 2022 | Lauren Smith

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has announced a new commitment to...