Will ‘green’ electric heat pumps be a cost too far?

THE NATION’S gas boilers are living on borrowed time as the Government plans to replace them with costly electric heat pumps, to cut carbon emissions from our homes. This is unlikely to be popular with homeowners, given that heat pumps can cost anything up to £18,000 to install.that is 12 times the average £1,500 charge for a new gas boiler.

Fitting may also involve ripping out the existing central heating system and to make matters worse, running costs may be actually higher than gas.

So it is hardly surprising that homeowners have been reluctant to switch, despite being offered a

£5,000 grant under the £450million Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Introduced this month, it is enough to help install 90,000 low-carbon heating systems.

The Government says nobody will be forced to remove their existing fossil fuel boilers, but should switch when they need replacing.

This has left many homeowners whose boiler is coming to the end of its natural life wondering what they should do now.

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As living costs rocket, people are unwilling to invest in a heat pump, even if they can afford it.

This lack of interest could force the Government to step up its plans, according to its own infrastructure chief, Sir John Armitt.

He said last week: “Why would you move to a heat pump at between £5,000 to £15,000 when you can buy or exchange for a new gas boiler for £1,500?”

Armitt, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, said the only way to get people to invest in heat pumps was forcibly, “by saying that from a particular date, you won’t be able to buy a new gas boiler”.

His comments infuriated Express readers, who wrote to say they cannot afford to switch, and heat pumps are not right for every home anyway. Many experts agree.

CHILLING PRICE

Heat pumps work like a fridge in reverse, extracting warmth from the outside air, the ground or a nearby water source.

They look like a standard airconditioning unit, and are part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s net zero drive to make the UK carbon free by 2050.

Heating and lighting our homes make up more than a fifth of the UK’S carbon emissions, and 85 per cent of us use gas boilers.

The Government has a legal obligation to hit net zero by 2050, so the question is, who foots the bill as living costs soar? Mike Foster, chief executive of the Energy and Utilities Alliance, said:“some of the options to achieve net zero homes involve eyewatering sums of money, which frankly, people do not have.”

PUMP IT UP

Installing a heat pump as an alternative to a gas boiler will cost at least £10,000 and that is only the start of the expense, Foster said.

Those living in period or poorly insulated homes might have to pay another £12,000, to retain the heat generated to make them work efficiently. To suggest most of us can afford this is absurd, Foster said: “These sums might mean nothing to the millionaires suggesting heat pumps are the future but to ordinary families, they are beyond reach.”

Running costs are higher, too, said Ian Henderson, founder and managing director of Boiler Plan UK: “Government levies mean electricity actually costs four times as much as gas, so homeowners could end up paying more to heat their homes.”

SWITCH OVER

Experts say there are easier and cheaper ways of cutting domestic emissions. Foster says gas networks plan to blend low-carbon hydrogen with natural gas, allowing us to continue using our existing boilers for now, and switch to zero carbon “hydrogen-ready” boilers later.

Other solutions include switching to LED lighting, and improving insulation so that less heat escapes from our homes.

This will make them cheaper to run and cut soaring bills, said Michael Lewis, UK chief executive of energy giant E.ON. He said the Government needs to accelerate its plans for clean, green energy and called for clearer guidance so that homeowners know when and how to upgrade their boilers. “This will provide clarity to manufacturers on when the production of gas boilers must cease,” said Lewis.

‘In 20 to 30 years, we will look back and question why we ever had boilers burning fossil fuels’

RETROFIT FOCUS

Gas boilers will go the way of the coal fire, once a fixture in everybody’s home, said Sean Keyes, managing director at engineering firm Sutcliffe: “In 20 to 30 years, we will look back and question why we ever had them, given the environmental damage caused by burning fossil fuels.”

Yet Keyes is also sceptical about heat pumps and said the initial focus should be on energy efficiency, especially in older homes, through improved insulation, secondary glazing and draught-proofing.

Unfortunately, this will also be costly. Period property owners face paying bills averaging £6,000 under Government plans to force them to “retrofit” their homes with insulation and double-glazing.

Few now dispute the importance of switching to cleaner, greener energy. The problem is, neither homeowners nor the Government have money to burn.yet someone has to pay.