NEWS EXTRA GOVERNMENT’S HEAT PUMP PUSH
PLANS TO PUSH people to install low-carbon heating systems and replace their old boilers over the next few years have do not go far enough and ignore the need to broadly been welcomed by the industry, though most feel that the scheme does not go far enough. At Baxi Heating, managing director Karen Boswell OBE, says: “We welcome today’s publication of the Heat and Buildings Strategy from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). This important document details a roadmap for the decarbonisation of heat which the industry can, and must, support.”
However, she stresses that there is also a need to “collectively deliver a just energy transition, ensuring no households are left behind”. She says: “Running cost is a critical consideration and fuel poverty has no place in one of the world’s leading economies. As such we have concerns over the proposals to reallocate the levy cost aspect of electricity bills onto gas bills over time. This is a sensitive topic which needs to be carefully considered. In our white paper we proposed an alternative approach which has the desired effect of improving cost-competitiveness of heat pump technology without disadvantage to those less able to pay or unable to join the first wave of switching to low carbon heat.” At Grant UK commercial technical manager Neil Sawers says there are some barriers to overcome before some of the Government’s proposals can truly begin to roll out.
“It is imperative that both the Governments funding initiatives and retraining/up-skilling of the workforce work in parallel. We are concerned that as yet there has been no announcement regarding other off gas heating alternatives, such as biofuels (HVO) and hybrid heating which would have a major impact on reducing carbon emissions and are more practical in
10
terms of an immediate roll out.” The future of heat is about a mix of technologies and solutions working in tandem. An array of technologies will have a role to play, says Viessmann managing director, Graham Russell. “Given the diversity of the UK building stock and consumer base, we are delighted that the strategy encompasses a mix of policies to promote heat pumps, hydrogen heat, heat networks and energy efficiency as well as new funding giving the industry a framework to push forward with innovative solutions.
“2021 has been a year of growth for the heat pump market and the new scheme should be designed to deliver additional heat pump installations in segments of the retrofit market where heat pumps would not have otherwise been fitted.”
Vaillant’s Mark Wilkins says: “Time is of the essence when it comes to decarbonisation, and heat pumps are the best way to decarbonise today. In the future, there will be a mix of both hydrogen-fuelled boilers and heat pumps as there is no silver bullet to lowering carbon emissions of the UK’s diverse housing stock.” He also says that there are insufficient heat pump installers to support the ambitions laid out in the Heat and Buildings Strategy. “We urge the Government to take the necessary steps to recognise and incentivise those wishing to embark on the necessary training to become low carbon installers.” However, the strategy has come under fire for being: “insufficient for the scale of the challenge we face”.
Mike Foster, CEO of the Energy and Utilities Alliance,says: “The grant is insufficient to the scale of the challenge we face in terms of reaching Net Zero. It is well short of the support needed to get to 600,000 heat pumps installed each year by 2028. My suspicion is that
the Chancellor is putting the brakes on the Prime Minister’s flight of green fantasy.
“I suspect hydrogen-ready boiler installations will be far greater than that number by 2028, suggesting that consumers have made their choice. But that choice, between heat pumps or hydrogen-ready boilers, is one they should have.” Like Boswell, Foster is also concerned with the plight of those in fuel poverty. “For the 4.5 million households currently in fuel poverty, faced with rocketing bills and cuts to their universal credit, they must wonder what they have done wrong. The £5000 grant only pays half the cost of a heat pump, so those in fuel poverty will see no warmth from the government’s generosity; instead, it is a middle- class bung for people who were probably going to fit one anyway.” The UKGBC argues that simply phasing out gas boilers from 2035 is not ambitious enough – there needs to be a clear cut-off date from 2030. It would also like to see a large scale domestic retrofit programme, energy performance standards that rely on actual energy use, and an immediate drive to tackle embodied carbon emissions from construction and whole life. Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), says that the most important challenge has not been mentioned, that of retrofitting homes so that heat pumps use less energy and homes are healthier and warmer. “The Government needs to engage with industries National Retrofitting Strategy and recognise, that at no cost to the taxpayer, the planning and policy elements of it will kickstart our essential retrofitting sector,” he says.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, adds: “The Government appears to be only listening to one half of the story. If there is no detail in the Strategy on how we can address the megatonnes
FALLS SHORT SAYS INDUSTRY The Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy includes proposals to subsidise the cost of replacing gas boilers with heat pumps. It has been cautiously welcomed.
of carbon lost through the leaky walls and roofs of our homes, it will have failed and the benefits of installing heat pumps risk being lost. “Without a long-term national retrofit strategy, including a proper skills plan and communications campaign, regular consumers won’t know what action they need to take, nor feel it’s within their grasp; and industry won’t take the long-term investment decisions needed to be ready to deliver. I can only hope that the Chancellor will use next week’s Budget to address some of these gaps.”
Carl Arntzen, CEO of Worcester Bosch, says that confusion amongst installers and homeowners is not surprising, bearing in mind that the strategy does not refer to any legislation behind a boiler ban. He also believes that the strategy doesn’t go far enough.
“When considering a heat pump there are many factors to assess which are not considered (in the strategy), such as the property’s suitability.
“A home may need to be adapted to accommodate a heat pump, such as resizing radiators and making space for hot water cylinders, which carry cost implications.
“Therefore, the proposed grants may help with the cost to purchase a heat pump, but there will still be costly investment required from homeowners in existing properties.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net November 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
