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NEWS


BSEE Plan to drive down cost of clean heat The Government is offering households in England and Wales grants of £5,000 to help install low­carbon heating systems


hrough the Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Government has set out its plan to incentivise people to install low-carbon heating systems in a simple, fair and cheap way as they come to replace their old boilers over the coming decade. This is expected to reduce the UK’s dependency on fossil fuels and exposure to global price spikes, whilst supporting up to 240,000 jobs across the UK by 2035.


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New grants of £5,000 will be available from April next year to encourage homeowners to install more efficient, low carbon heating systems – like heat pumps that do not emit carbon when used – through a new £450 million three-year Boiler Upgrade Scheme. These grants mean people choosing to install a heat pump will pay a similar amount as if they were installing a traditional gas boiler.


The £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme is part of more than £3.9 billion of new funding being announced today by the Government for decarbonising heat and buildings. This will fund the next three years of investment through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant scheme, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme


and the Heat Networks Transformation Programme and reducing carbon emissions from public buildings through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. The Government and industry will also work together to help meet the aim of heat pumps costing the same to buy and run as fossil fuel boilers by 2030, with big cost reductions of between a quarter and a half by 2025 expected as the market expands, and technology develops.


This will support the Government’s new target for all new heating systems installed in UK homes by 2035 to be either using low- carbon technologies, such as electric heat pumps, or supporting new technologies like hydrogen-ready boilers, where there is confidence in the supply of clean, green fuel.


No-one will be forced to remove their existing fossil fuel boilers, with this transition of the next 14 years seeing the UK’s households gradually move away from fossil fuel boilers in an affordable, practical and fair way, enabling homeowners to easily make these green choices when the time comes to replace their old boiler. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “As we clean up the way we heat our homes over the next decade, we are backing our


brilliant innovators to make clean technology like heat pumps as cheap to buy and run as gas boilers – supporting thousands of green jobs.


“Our new grants will help homeowners make the switch sooner, without costing them extra, so that going green is the better choice when their boiler needs an upgrade.


Positive reaction There has a been positive response


to the release of the Heat and Buildings Strategy


“This announcement is timed perfectly to take advantage of the HPA’s recently- launched training course, with the industry now ready to retrain the UK’s army of installers with the capacity to train up to 40,000 per year, to ensure consumers can find a suitably trained and skilled heat pump installer when they need one. “Today’s announcement will give industry and installers a huge confidence boost that now is the time to scale-up and retrain in preparation for the mass roll out of heat pumps, as well as making heat pumps as affordable as boilers, so all consumers can soon access and enjoy the benefits of affordable, reliable low carbon heating that stands the test of time.


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Laura Bishop, chair of the Ground Source Heat Pump Association (GSHPA) said: “The GSHPA warmly welcomes the release of the Heat and Buildings Strategy. We look forward to a consistent policy environment which will drive growth in our sector and the UK economy on the path towards achieving Net Zero.


“Ground source heat pumps represent a long-term infrastructure asset which delivers unrivalled efficiencies in generating clean heat, and we hope the policy will underpin the mass market roll out we have been anticipating for some time. Stewart Clements, director of the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) said: “HHIC today welcomes the publication of the Heat and Buildings Strategy, HHIC and its members will continue to support the Government and consumers with the transition to a mix of new, low-carbon heating solutions for different property types in different parts of the country – such as electric heat pumps, heat networks, and hydrogen boilers.” “The strategy from government allows the HHIC membership to make the investment choices required to facilitate the manufacturing, installation, and training for low carbon heating products.”


hil Hurley, chair of the Heat Pump Association (HPA), said: “The heat pump industry warmly welcomes these bold steps forward. The industry in the best shape it has ever been, with sales this year already double those seen ever before.


Read the latest at: www.bsee.co.uk


BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER NOVEMBER 2021 5


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