Subsidies to encourage homeowners to switch from a gas boiler to a heat pump could be extended as a new report calls for extra support to make it cheaper to go green.
The Resolution Foundation has warned that the rollout of heat pumps – which are intended to be installed in the large majority of homes eventually – is “miles off track”.
In 2024 only 100,000 heat pumps were installed in British homes, compared to 1.5 million gas boilers, amid concerns they are still too expensive for many people.
Heat pumps, which use electricity to draw heat from the air or the ground and circulate it around a home, typically cost more to install than a boiler despite a £7,500 Government subsidy available for each one.
The Resolution Foundation called on the existing grants to be extended beyond 2028, when they are currently due to expire. The Government is open to extending the subsidies but a final decision will not come until after this summer’s spending review, The i Paper understands.
The think-tank also said that an additional grant for lower-income households – those with a resident on means-tested benefits or with a gross income of less than £30,000 – should also be introduced to allow them to switch to heat pumps.
A top-up of £3,000 would make the green technology the same cost as a new boiler and would cost the Treasury £370m a year by 2035, according to the Resolution Foundation.
A further suggestion would be to switch the existing green levies from electricity bills to gas bills, making energy cheaper for those who do not rely on fossil fuels for their heating.
Jonathan Marshall of the Resolution Foundation, said: “The mass adoption of heat pumps in our homes is vital if Britain is to hit its net zero targets. But the roll-out is miles off track, with heat pumps particularly out of reach for many poorer families.
“The Government needs to be more proactive in offering carrots and sticks to get heat pumps installed. Extending subsidies should be built on with additional targeted support for low-income households, while regulation should be used to drive change in new build homes and signal the end date for the sale of gas and oil boilers. Combining better incentives with reforms to levies currently paid through electricity bills could mean more households saving money when they switch to heat pumps.”
Government sources said that generous support was already available for poorer households, including those living in social housing, and that long-term reforms to the energy market were under review.
square NEWS ExclusiveHeat pumps are about to get cheaper - and it's all down to the trade war
Read More
A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “Our warm homes plan will transform homes across the country by making them cheaper and cleaner to run, rolling out upgrades to up to 300,000 homes this year. We will not force anyone to rip out a working boiler and are helping more people get a heat pump through our £7,500 grant for households, having almost doubled the scheme’s funding this year.
“As a first step in delivering the warm homes plan, we have committed an initial £3.4bn over the next three years, including £1.8bn to support fuel poverty schemes. We will set out full details of our ambitious plan following the spending review.”
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Heat pump subsidies could be extended beyond 2028 )
Also on site :
- Who Is FSU Shooting Suspect Phoenix Ikner? What We Know
- World’s first true ROBOCOP unveiled as cops deploy ‘Cyborg 1.0’ with facial recognition 360 degree cameras for eyes
- Man shot and killed by police in Golden Hill this week identified as Enrique Cortez, 37