Dr Jonathan Clarke from the Institute for Global Sustainable Development, comments of the announcement that £5k government grants will be available to homeowners changing their gas boilers to heat pumps.

He said: "By providing homeowners with a £5,000 subsidy to replace their gas boilers with heat pumps, the Government is taking its first step towards making UK homes Net Zero for carbon emissions and helping to tackle the current energy crisis. The UK is heavily reliant on expensive gas for warming homes and generating electricity, so moving towards electrified heating will allow us to shift to renewable sources of energy, cut bills and improve the nation’s energy security.

"However, Heat pumps are currently expensive to install, with the Government’s own advisors estimating that the cost of switching to low carbon heating will be £15 billion per year until 2050. The proposals to provide £450 million over the next three years will give a big boost to the providers and installers of heat pump technologies, but there are no funds for improving the energy efficiency of existing homes, which will need extra insulation improvements to be compatible with heat pumps. Without significant investment in the building fabric of UK homes, we will see rising bills and emissions, while the UK’s path to Net Zero will be harder for the nation and homeowners alike"

 

 

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