The UK government is offering households up to £7,500 in grants to help switch from traditional gas boilers to heat pump technologies as part of efforts to drive the country’s transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy.
This expanded scheme aims to reduce carbon emissions from home heating and make low-carbon heating options more affordable and accessible.
The initiative, which is part of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, is seen as a key step in addressing both climate change and rising energy bills.
According to government figures, there was an 88% increase in applications for the scheme last year, underlining the growing interest in heat pumps. Despite this, the upfront costs of installation have remained a significant barrier for many households.
Flexible Funding to Support Heating System Upgrades
As part of the expansion, households will be able to choose from a wider range of technologies, including air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries, as well as the more common air-source and ground-source heat pumps.
The government has also proposed new payment models, offering options for consumers to either pay in instalments or lease their systems for a fixed monthly fee, making the transition to clean energy more affordable.
“Following a record-breaking month for applications to our Boiler Upgrade Scheme, we are now proposing to give working families more choice and flexibility to pick the low-carbon upgrades that work best for them.” said Miatta Fahnbulleh, Minister for Energy Consumers.
These changes are expected to increase the adoption of heat pumps, which use electricity to draw heat from the air or ground and provide both space heating and hot water.
Expanding Skills and Manufacturing Capacity
Alongside the funding for households, the government is committing to an expansion of the workforce needed to install heat pumps and other renewable energy technologies.
Up to 18,000 additional home retrofitters will be trained to handle the growing demand for low-carbon heating solutions, such as heat pumps and solar panels.
This training initiative is vital to ensuring the UK’s workforce can meet the demands of the green economy and support the country’s transition to net zero.
Additionally, the government has awarded £4.6 million to Copeland, a climate technology firm, to expand the production of compressors—a key component in heat pump systems—by 240,000 units.
These efforts are designed to ensure that supply can keep up with the growing demand for sustainable home heating.
