Government pledges an extra £1.5bn for heat pumps to replace gas boilers

More homes will be able to access cheaper heat pumps as the Government has pledged another £1.5billion for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives Government grants of up to £7,500 for fitting air and ground source heat pumps and up to £5,000 for biomass boilers.

The idea is to move England and Wales away from relying on gas-powered central heating, used by three-quarters of homes, and on to greener heat pumps.

In October the Government announced that air and ground source heat pump grants would rise from £6,000 to £7,500.

Go to ground: Ground source heat pumps transfer heat from the earth into buildings

This led to a 57 per cent rise in applications to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Government said today.

In response, the Government today confirmed it would put an extra £1.5billion into the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, enough for 200,000 maximum heat pump grants, between 2025 and 2028.

The new Boiler Upgrade Scheme cash is coming from a £6billion pot the Government unveiled last year, which has today been given a use.

The rest of the £6billion is also being spent on energy, heating and helping the Government lower household carbon emissions.

For example, the Government has put another £1.25billion into the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.

This is a pot of money used that housing associations and councils can use to improve the energy performance of social housing.

There will also be a £400million energy efficiency grant, launching in 2025, for households in England to fit improvements such as bigger radiators and better insulation.

Local councils will also get £500million to help 60,000 low-income and cold homes, including those off the gas grid, with measures such as better insulation.

Meanwhile the Green Heat Network Fund will get an extra £485million to help up to 60,000 homes and buildings get cheap, green energy through heat networks.

What are the advantages of heat pumps? 

Experts say they can cut up to 25 per cent off your energy bills as the devices require less power to run, which also makes them more environmentally friendly than boilers.

They can also last longer than boilers – up to 20 years.

How much do heat pumps cost?

Getting one of the devices fitted can cost £15,000 or more.

But weveral firms, including Octopus Energy, British Gas and Ovo, have been competing to drive down the cost of installing a heat pump.

Now Octopus Energy says its ‘Cosy Octopus’ heat pump can even be fitted for free, or for as little as £500.

However, for that to happen the homeowner must get the full £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.

They must also own a property that does not need any upgrade work to make it suitable for a heat pump. 

What are the downsides of heat pumps? 

Getting the most out of a heat pump can involve extra costs. Poorly insulated properties may not get the maximum benefit from a heat pump, as the devices work at lower temperatures than boilers.

This means homeowners fitting a heat pump should consider sorting out decent wall and loft insulation, as well as double glazing, first.

You may also need bigger radiators to get the most warmth out of a heat pump.

That is because the devices do not heat water to as hot a temperature as boilers can, so radiators with larger surface areas may be needed to maximise heat.

Your property must also be suitable to get a heat pump fitted.

A ground source heat pump also requires space outside to bury the pipes needed to generate heat.

Both ground source and air source heat pumps require a hot water cylinder to be fitted, which may not suit smaller flats.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk