LONDON (Reuters) – Britain announced on Thursday a doubling of funds available to help people switch to environmentally friendly heat pumps to keep their homes warm as well as a relaxation of planning rules to make installing the units easier.
The Labour government last week committed the country to an ambitious climate goal at the United Nations COP29 climate summit of cutting its greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035 compared with 1990 levels.
Most of Britain’s homes are heated by gas and the home heating sector accounts for around 18% of the country’s overall emissions. The government hopes replacing gas boilers with electricity-driven heat pumps will play a role in helping to meet the climate target.
Funding available under the boiler upgrade scheme, which was launched by the previous Conservative government in 2022, will be increased by 30 million pounds ($37.90 million) this financial year and double to 295 million pounds for 2025/26 to enable more people to take part, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said in a statement.
Under the scheme people can apply for grants for 7,500 pounds to pay for a new heat pump, to make them more competitive with new gas boilers which can typically cost around 3,000 pounds.
The government will also remove a rule which had meant heat pumps, which are installed outside, would need to be at least 1 metre away from a property boundary.
“More than a third of customers who order a heat pump drop out because of planning issues… Removing outdated and unnecessary red tape is an urgent priority to grow this sector,” Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, said in the government statement.
($1 = 0.7916 pounds)
(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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