The UK government will make GBP 295 million ($308.4 million) in grant funding available to homes switching from gas boilers to heat pumps in the 2025-26 fiscal year. Meanwhile, forthcoming reforms will allow air-source heat pumps to be installed without the need to submit planning applications.
A Samsung heat pump installed in a UK home
Image: Samsung
The UK government has increased the budget for its boiler upgrade scheme, which offers homeowners in England and Wales GBP 7,500 ($9,435) off the cost of a heat pump.
The government will add GBP 30 million to the scheme in the 2024-25 fiscal year, bringing the total investment to GBP 150 million. In fiscal 2025-26, it will nearly double the budget to GBP 295 million.
Since its launch in 2021, the number of subsidies awarded under the boiler upgrade scheme has steadily grown. October saw the highest number of applications to date, according to the United Kingdom’s gas and electricity markets authority, Ofgem.
The government has confirmed it will remove a planning regulation that currently prohibits installing heat pumps within 1 meter of a property’s boundary, alongside an increase in investment for the scheme. The change, set to come into force in early 2025, will allow households to install an air-source heat pump without the need to submit a planning application.
Research from Octopus Energy has shown around that one-third of customers who order heat pumps are discouraged or drop out for reasons attributed to planning permission. The decision has therefore been backed by several leading industry manufacturers and energy companies.
“Removing outdated and unnecessary red tape is an urgent priority to grow this sector and get low cost, safe, clean heating technology into British homes.” said Octopus Energy CEO Greg Jackson.
The announced measures form part of the government’s overarching Warm Homes Plan, which has committed to investing GBP 3.2 billion through to 2026 in home energy efficiency, with a focus on social housing.
Figures from the UK government estimate up to 300,000 households will benefit from home upgrades in the coming year under the measures.
Earlier this month, researchers from the University of Strathclyde simulated heat pump rollout across the United Kingdom through to 2050. They said that expansion strategies could help mitigate high energy prices.
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