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are choosing to replace their gas boiler. comfort or to coordinate with other
The scheme will run for three years and planned building improvements.”
is targeting 90,000 homes. Many green To that end, a £950 million Home
groups had hoped for a longer running Upgrade Grant scheme is detailed
scheme, given that there are 29 million in the strategy. This is less than half
domestic properties in the UK. of the funding originally promised
A further criticism of the boiler through the Green Homes Grant. The
upgrade scheme is that there is no Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund,
requirement for applicants to improve originally launched as a £60 million
the energy efficiency of their homes one-year initiative in 2020, has been
before installing a heat pump. extended through to 2025, with the
To help deliver the heat pumps and government pledging to invest £800
installers needed, BEIS has stated that it million by this time.
will work closely with the industry. BEIS The strategy states that the policies it
is hoping that by scaling up production details could bring up to 70 per cent of
and making technologies more efficient England’s homes to Energy Productivity
the costs of a domestic heat pump will Certificate (EPC) band C or above by
be 25-50 per cent lower in 2025 than 2035, from approximately 40 per cent
today, and that they will be comparable at present. It adds that BEIS will explore
with gas boilers by 2030. Operating whether minimum energy performance
costs will also be lowered by changes to standards should be set for the 2030s
the climate change levy, to be phased and 2040s, but no plans for anything
in over a decade. Gas levies will rise similar in the shorter term are outlined.
as electricity levies fall, thus making
electrification cheaper. “BEIS is hoping that by scaling
There are also updated commitments
to work with local authorities to help up production and making
encourage individuals to choose a heat technologies more efficient the
pump when next replacing their boilers. costs of a domestic heat pump
Councils are encouraged, through the will be 25-50 per cent lower in
strategy, to retrofit their own buildings
and lead by example, while also 2025 than today, and that they
providing communications and tailored will be comparable with gas
practical support to residents. boilers by 2030”
Additionally, local authorities
are urged to identify appropriate
locations for low carbon district Sky News reports that BEIS Is
heating networks. This is not yet a legal also looking to incentivise mortgage
requirement. BEIS has stated that it is companies to focus their lending on
working with Ofgem to “develop a better properties with higher EPC bands. This
understanding of the opportunities could drive change at that part of the
and challenges presented by local area value chain, but there is the risk of
energy mapping and planning and is penalising low income individuals with
considering the most appropriate policy less efficient homes.
options to take forwards”. There are
currently some 14,000 heat networks LONGER-TERM INNOVATION
in the UK, collectively serving some Following the publication of the
480,000 customers. Hydrogen Strategy in August, there
Overall, the strategy details £3.9 had been hopes for a commitment to
billion of funding, with the Department IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY hydrogen for heating homes, offices and
for Business, Energy and Industrial The strategy provides some clarity on other commercial buildings.
Strategy (BEIS) stating that the entirety energy efficiency, though many had But the new strategy defers this
of this amount is new. The department been hoping for more information and decision to 2026, given that trials of
is also touting up to £6 billion in GVA a replacement for the Green Homes the UK’s first Hydrogen Village are due
for the UK economy and the creation of Grant of the same scale, if not larger to be completed in 2025, with support
175,000 skilled jobs by 2030. – especially given that the UK’s track from BEIS and the private sector.
record on home energy efficiency has It states: “Hydrogen offers the
HEATING DOMESTIC BUILDINGS been poor for far longer. potential opportunity to repurpose all
The strategy measures that made “We recommend that consumers or parts of the existing gas network to
tabloid headlines are, understandably, prioritise the most cost-effective energy a low carbon alternative, which could
those relating to heat for homes. efficiency measures, in particular those reduce the need for new network
Included in the strategy is a £450 measures that pay back within 20 infrastructure more broadly.
million boiler upgrade scheme through years,” the strategy states. “However, “However, further work is required to
which homeowners will be able to claim we appreciate that many households assess hydrogen network requirements as
grants of £5,000 to assist with the upfront and businesses will be interested in the hydrogen economy scales up, and how
purchase of a new heat pump if they going further, for example for increased future decisions on heat might affect this.”

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