Electric Heat Pumps May Fail to ‘Heat Homes Adequately’: UK Lawmakers

Undated photo of a heat pump. Octopus Energy/Handout via PA

Electric heat pumps, a key element of the UK government’s plan to reach its net-zero climate target, may not be able to “heat homes adequately” if the homes are not sufficiently insulated, a parliamentary committee has suggested.

The UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC) projects that by 2050 all heating in British homes will be provided by low-carbon sources, of which 52 percent will be heat pumps.

In November 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans to install 600,000 heat pumps every year by 2028.

But in its latest report (pdf) published on Feb. 3, the Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee of the House of Commons admitted there are some potential problems with the plan to replace existing gas boilers with heat pumps.

“Evidence was clear that for low carbon heating installations to work effectively and to heat homes adequately, properties need to be upgraded to the correct levels of energy efficiency,” the report said.

The committee said failing to address the concerns could lead to “scheme failure.”

“If people are encouraged to switch to low carbon heating sources without the knowledge or incentive for energy efficiency upgrades, then there are risks of scheme failure and loss of public trust if the new low carbon heating sources are not heating homes to the desired temperature and insulation,” the report said.

Labour MP Darren Jones, who chairs the committee, said replacing gas boilers is “a huge task and we are not making near enough progress.”

“Bill payers today are deeply worried about their energy costs, with many people struggling to afford to heat their homes. Most people don’t realise that their gas boiler will need to be replaced within the next 10 to 15 years,” he said.

What further complicates the matter is the high costs of installing and operating the heat pumps.

The cost of replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump may be as high as £15,000–£20,000 ($20,000–$27,000), but the government’s boiler replacement grants are only worth £5,000–£6,000 ($7,000–$8,000).

“Asking households to pay upwards of an extra £10,000, as part of the objective of net zero, to replace their existing home heating which is working perfectly adequately is a major challenge,” the report admitted.

The committee also pointed out that the environmental levies disincentivises the switch to electrified low carbon heating solutions such as heat pumps, because “the running costs are greater than a gas boiler.”

Another emission-cutting strategy being considered by the UK government is mixing hydrogen into existing gas supplies.

The government said last year that it would work with industry to “assess the safety, technical feasibility, and cost effectiveness of mixing 20 percent hydrogen into the existing gas supply.”

But analysis from German research institute Fraunhofer IEE found that, if these plans go ahead, it could push up energy bills by 16 percent for homes, and by as much as 43 percent for industrial end-users.

The UK’s National Audit Office (NAO) said in December 2020 that the government’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 is a “colossal challenge” that could cost hundreds of billions of pounds.

Lily Zhou and PA Media contributed to this report.