Subsidies for heat pumps are being offered to more homes as the government also relaxes noise regulations for green appliances
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is set to receive a multi-million pound boost next year
More households will receive heat pump grants worth up to £7,500 as the Government has added more money to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).
It also removes red tape surrounding the green devices, including removing a rule that means a building permit is needed to install a heat pump less than a meter away from someone else’s property.
The BUS is offering grants of up to £7,500 to households to install a heat pump on their property, with the idea being to encourage the uptake of greener heating technology.
The Government today announced it will invest an additional £30 million this financial year and double the BUS to £295 million by 2024/2025.
The extra money means a further 4,000 homes will benefit from a reduced heat pump this year, assuming each gets the full £7,500.
However, since its launch in 2022, demand for heat pumps has consistently lagged behind the financing of the program.
The BUS paid out £88.8 million in 2023/24, against a budget of £150 million, while the BUS paid out £51 million in 2022/23.
Give it a boost: The government is adding huge amounts of money to a plan to boost the use of heat pumps
The government is also tearing up the red tape that prevented many homes from purchasing a heat pump.
This includes relaxing the rules aimed at limiting the effects of heat pump noise.
The current system includes a notorious ‘one meter rule’ which stipulates that if a household installs a heat pump less than one meter from the boundary of another plot, a building permit is required.
The government plans to scrap this requirement, and the Conservative government has also scrapped the previous requirement for homes to have attic or cavity wall insulation before they could apply for a BUS grant.
The BUS changes are part of the Government’s wider Warm Homes Plan, which aims to improve the properties of low-income homeowners and private renters in homes with an EPC rating of D to G to at least C.
The scheme currently includes plans to provide grants of £15,000 per home for heat pumps and £15,000 for better insulation, but with little further detail.
The Warm Homes Plan would oversee £3.2 billion of investment between 2025 and 2026, which could fund up to 300,000 homes, the Government also announced today.
Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, said: ‘More than a third of customers who order a heat pump drop out due to planning issues, leaving them with dirty, inefficient gas boilers. Removing outdated and unnecessary red tape is an urgent priority to grow this sector and get cheap, safe and clean heating technology into British homes.”
Stew Horne, head of policy at the Energy Saving Trust, said: ‘This package of announcements provides welcome details on how the UK Government will support people on the ground to install low-carbon heating and boost the supply chain to meet demand.
‘We welcome the removal of a key barrier to heat pump installation and the confirmation of additional funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.’
