Recent data from Rated People has revealed that overall demand for heat pumps has increased by 20 percent since the beginning of 2022. However, analysis carried out by the TaxPayers’ Alliance suggests a heat pump could cost households £18,000 with a recent Government grant scheme only covering £5,000 of this. As part of the Government’s environmental strategy, air source heat pumps are considered proper alternatives to gas boilers which are becoming more expensive to use.
From April 2022, grants worth £5,000 have been made readily available to households looking to heat and insulate their homes in a climate-friendly way.
The idea of launching such a scheme is to mitigate the cost of installation and bring it closer to that of installing a new gas boiler.
Despite these intentions, the TaxPayers’ Alliance’s research suggests that households will still need to spend an additional £13,000 to heat their homes this way.
If the grant were given to the 23 million residential households that do not have an air source heat pump, the overall cost would come to £115billion, according to the think-tank.
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To meet its decarbonising goals, the Government is set to invest £4billion in new funding which includes the boiler upgrade scheme.
John O’Connell, the chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, outlined the true expense of heat pumps on the average household.
Mr O’Connell explained: “Clean energy is a laudable aim but the transition must not be done on the backs of families on the lowest incomes.
“The cost of living crisis is already being made worse by tax rises and green levies, so taxpayers cannot afford more unexpected demands on their cash.
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“Before any big decisions are made, politicians must come clean on the cost of green.”
Across the nation, people are being hit with the double whammy of soaring inflation and an unprecedented hike in energy bills.
While the former hit a 30-year high of seven year percent recently, energy bills are expected to rise by £693 annually for the average house.
This comes following Ofgem’s decision to raise the energy price cap, the minimum amount providers can charge consumers on their gas and electricity.
The regulator made the decision due to the global energy crisis which has seen bills skyrocket as a result of pressures on the wholesale gas market and the war in Ukraine.
In response to this issue, the Government announced last year plans to drive down the costs of clean heating to support working families and the environment.
This included £5,000 Government grants via the £450million Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help install low-carbon heating systems.
At the time, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “As we clean up the way we heat our homes over the next decade, we are backing our brilliant innovators to make clean technology like heat pumps as cheap to buy and run as gas boilers – supporting thousands of green jobs.
“Our new grants will help homeowners make the switch sooner, without costing them extra, so that going green is the better choice when their boiler needs an upgrade.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail, A Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy spokesman said: “We are incentivising millions of people into getting heat pumps by the end of the decade by slashing the price of installation by up to £5,000 and cutting VAT to 0 percent.
“We are working with industry to further bring down the cost of heat pumps by up to half by 2025 and reaching parity with boilers by 2030 as the technology develops, making them ultimately the most affordable option.”
Express.co.uk has reached out to the department for further comment.
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