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Demand for heat pumps surges as grant application increase by 39%

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Demand for heat pumps continues to grow with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme enjoying the third best month for applications in its history.

Figures for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme released today (29 February) show there were over 2,000 applications for heat pump grants in January 2024 – only exceeded by October and November last year, which immediately followed the increase in government-funded heat pump grants. 

The January figure is up 39% on the same month last year as families take advantage of the 50% grant increase introduced by the government last autumn, making the initiative one of the most generous of its kind in Europe.

The news follows recent government figures showing the UK is the first major economy to halve its emissions – having cut them by 50% between 1990 and 2022, while also growing its economy by 79%.

Energy Security Secretary, Claire Coutinho, said:

I don’t want families to have to choose between cutting costs and cutting emissions. I want families to feel supported, not forced, to make changes that are right for them.

After we made our heat pump scheme one of the most generous in Europe, applications have soared by 40% year on year – showing that our approach is the right one.

The figures also revealed the average monthly number of applications from November 2023 to January 2024, the months after the grant increase, has been 39% higher than the monthly average before the uplift.

Up to the end of January, the scheme has now received 33,424 applications in total and has issued more than £133 million in vouchers to customers.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme helps households make the switch from fossil fuel heating systems to cleaner low carbon heating alternatives, by covering the majority of the average upfront cost of an air source heat pump.

In October, the Prime Minister increased grants for the installation of air source and ground source heat pumps to £7,500. The scheme also offers £5,000 off the cost of a biomass boiler.

The figures released today also show a regional breakdown of where heat pumps have been installed in England and Wales.

The South West has seen the most with 3,894 installations, followed by the South East with 3,886 and then the East with 2,671.

Chief Executive of the Heat Pump Association, Charlotte Lee, said:

It’s great to see interest in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme increasing, supporting the installation of over 20,200 heat pumps to date across England and Wales. 

The uplift in the grant value for air source and ground source heat pumps in October 2023 to £7,500 has been well received by both the sector and consumers and we hope this increasing interest will be a trend which continues forward as we move to decarbonise home heating in line with the government’s legally binding net zero targets.

Rollout of electric vehicle chargepoints to be accelerated

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New measures to support electric vehicle drivers from the government’s Plan for Drivers have launched today (5 February 2024), including grants for schools, cash for councils and new proposals to boost chargepoint numbers.

Technology and Decarbonisation Minister, Anthony Browne, will launch support for greener schools in Nottinghamshire today, with a new grant providing up to 75% of the cost to buy and install chargepoints, up to £2,500 per socket, up from the previous £350. 

Paid for by the Department for Transport, the grant forms part of the Workplace Charging Scheme and is available for state-funded schools, colleges, nurseries and academies to boost the chargepoint facilities for staff and visitors. This could also help schools to generate revenue by making their chargepoints available to the public.

The school’s grant is for state-funded schools and education institutions, which must have dedicated off-street parking facilities – applications can be made online. Independent schools may apply for funding through the Workplace Charging Scheme and the Electric vehicle infrastructure grant for SMEs. 

The government is also delivering the £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to local authorities across the country. The first capital payments for charging projects have been approved to 3 local authorities from East Sussex to North Yorkshire, and 2 London boroughs, bringing the total funding for these areas to more than £ 14.2 million. The funding will support the installation of thousands of new chargers, ensuring the rollout continues at pace to support drivers in every area of the country.

Through our LEVI capability funding, almost 100 dedicated EV officers have been newly recruited to support chargepoint procurement. To aid local authorities in building a skilled workforce and delivering their charging projects, the government is also launching the electric vehicle infrastructure (EVI) training course for their officers, which will open to all local authorities from mid-March following a successful trial. 

Technology and Decarbonisation Minister, Anthony Browne, said:

We’re getting on with delivering our Plan for Drivers, and this latest set of measures will mean EV owners everywhere benefit from easier and more convenient access to chargepoints. 

This government has already spent over £ 2 billion to ensure a smooth switch to EVs, and we’re committed to supporting drivers as we transition towards net zero in a proportionate way that doesn’t burden working people.

More and more drivers are making the switch to electric vehicles, with fully electric vehicles accounting for over 16% of the new UK car market in 2023, according to industry statistics. The number of plug-in vehicles in the UK has also risen to over 1.2 million, of which 770,000 are fully battery-electric, meaning more and more drivers are making the switch.

As this number continues to grow, government is investing alongside industry in EV infrastructure to ensure we meet our climate change commitments, while charting the fairest path to net zero which does not unnecessarily burden families.

New laws recently came into force to provide EV drivers with easier and more reliable public charging, mandating that prices across chargepoints are transparent, easy to compare and that a large proportion of new public chargepoints have contactless payment options. This comes as over 53,000 public chargepoints have been installed across the UK, demonstrating the progress that has been made in the switch to electric. 

Minister for the School System and Student Finance at the Department for Education, Baroness Barran, said: 

This is an exciting opportunity for schools across the UK to become part of an ongoing move towards a greener public sector. Schools engaging with this grant will be supporting the development of green infrastructure, helping to improve their local environments.

Developing a greener education estate is a key element of our sustainability and climate change strategy. The expansion of this grant supports our ambition to improve the sustainability of our schools in the ongoing move towards net zero.

In addition, the government is today launching a consultation to look at ways to speed up chargepoint installation across the country. The proposals would give EV chargepoint operators the right to carry out street works using a permit rather than a licence. 

Permits can be issued much faster, taking days instead of months, and are significantly cheaper to obtain than licences, reducing costs for operators and speeding up the chargepoint rollout for drivers.

While the consultation runs, a new good practice guide has been published by the government to improve consistency in processing licence applications across different areas. 

These are the second package of measures delivered from the government’s Plan for Drivers and follow last month’s announcement of a crackdown on disruptive roadworks and better digital information to boost sat-nav accuracy.

To further deliver on our Plan for Drivers’ commitments, we have published a list of common questions and answers on the transition to EVs, including battery range and chargepoint availability across the country.

To provide further flexibility to individuals and organisations wishing to install EV charging outlets, we will shortly consult on removing the 2-metre limitation so that wall-mounted outlets and upstands can be installed anywhere within an area lawfully used for off-street parking.

Councillor Neil Clarke MBE, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Nottinghamshire County Council, said:

Through initiatives like the Electric Vehicle Cable Channel Pilot Programme and improving local electric vehicle infrastructure, we’re working hard to help residents without off-street parking, along with road users in Nottinghamshire, to charge their electric vehicles.

We are continuing with our ambition to make Nottinghamshire healthier, more prosperous, and greener. Initiatives like this are a step closer to achieving these ambitions.

As a county, we must do all that we can to protect the environment, and that’s why we welcome this continued government support, which helps us to roll out electric vehicle infrastructure more widely across Nottinghamshire.

These measures come following the UK’s world-leading path to reaching zero emission vehicles by 2035 coming into effect earlier this year. The zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain to be zero emission by 2030, providing certainty to consumers and industry – helping speed up the rollout of chargepoints.

The government’s approach to EVs has already attracted record investment in gigafactories and EV manufacturing, including:

  • Nissan’s recent investment of over £3 billion to develop 2 new electric vehicles at their Sunderland plant
  • Tata’s investment of over £4 billion in a new 40 GWh gigafactory
  • BMW’s investment of £600 million to build next-generation MINI EVs in Oxford
  • Ford’s investment of £380 million in Halewood to make electric drive units
  • Stellantis’ £100 million investment in Ellesmere Port for EV van production

Last year, the UK and EU agreed to extend trade rules on electric vehicles, saving manufacturers and consumers up to £4.3 billion in additional costs and providing long-term certainty for industry.

In addition, the On-street residential chargepoint scheme (ORCS) is open to all UK local authorities. 

Grants are also available to help businesses make the transition through the government’s Workplace charging scheme (WCS), as well as people in flats and rented accommodation through the Electric vehicle chargepoint grant.

Families could use electric vehicle batteries to power homes and save on bills as government backs new charging technologies

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The government announces funding for new charging technologies, which mean families could use their electric vehicle batteries to power their homes and save on bills.

Families could soon save hundreds of pounds on energy bills by using electricity stored in their electric vehicles (EVs) to power home appliances such as fridges and washing machines – thanks to new 2-way charging technologies being supported with government funding.

Households could power their home appliances as a result of the development of bidirectional charging, which enables electricity stored in a vehicle’s battery to flow back into the grid or back into the home and workplaces, which can then be used to power other devices.

This builds on existing smart charging technologies, where EVs can be charged when electricity prices are lower overnight. Families could then use these Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technologies to save money on their bills by selling the electricity back to the grid when prices are higher.

Businesses could also benefit from the V2X technologies by storing electricity in their fleets of EVs and using it to power their operations at a later date. These technologies will also help make it even easier to rely on renewable technologies such as solar panels, with less need for fossil fuels to provide for surges in demand by allowing stored renewable energy to be sold into the grid instead.

Four projects are today receiving a share of £4.8 million of government funding to support their work testing and implementing these innovative technologies.

Minister for Affordability and Skills Amanda Solloway said:   

The prospect of families being able to store energy on their doorstep in electric vehicles and use it to power their homes is incredibly exciting.

This is exactly the sort of ingenuity and creativity that makes the UK one of the world’s most innovative nations.

By backing this technology, we could save families hundreds of pounds a year, while also supporting jobs, investment and growth.  

Transport Minister for Technology and Decarbonisation Anthony Browne said:

We’re continuing to support drivers, and this innovative new development is the next step in levelling-up our charging technology, which will benefit many households across the country.

This government has already spent over £2 billion in the transition to electric vehicles and our charging network is growing at pace, with 44% more public chargepoints than this time last year, meaning drivers can charge more easily than before.

The successful companies are:

  • Hangar19 Ltd in Chelmsford – will demonstrate a 3-socket bidirectional charger, making a wider range of EVs available for energy flexibility and bidirectional charging
  • 3ti Energy Hubs Ltd in Leatherhead – will combine a quick-to-deploy bidirectional charging hub with a solar canopy and energy storage battery, house in recycled shipping containers, which can make access to bidirectional charging available in more destinations, including vehicle depots
  • Otaski Energy Solutions Ltd in Gateshead – will trial their bidirectional EV charger to enable fleet EV operators to access energy in a flexible way which could deliver savings in line with electricity supply and demand surges
  • Electric Green Limited in London – will work with QEnergy to trial wireless V2X technology with a fleet of 20 delivery vehicles at Royal Mail

Today’s funding builds on existing government funding for electric vehicle charging, such as the £70 million pilot scheme, announced at COP28 in Dubai. This will also boost the number of ultra-rapid charge points at motorway services.

It comes as some of the world’s leading car manufacturers are choosing the UK as their home to develop the latest electric vehicles and the battery technology. They include:

  • BMW, who have announced a £600 million investment to transform their Oxford plant to build the electric Mini
  • JLR (a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited, part of Tata Sons) – Tata Sons are investing £4 billion in a new gigafactory to create up to 4,000 highly skilled jobs
  • Nissan, who have announced they are delivering up to £2 billion investment to create a new electric vehicle manufacturing hub in Sunderland – helping put more zero emission vehicles on UK road

The UK has also committed to ending the sale of all new non-zero emission vehicles by 2035 to support the delivery of net zero. This ambition, combined with government support for industry through technologies like V2X, is helping cement the UK’s world leading position in the design, manufacture, and use of zero emissions vehicles, which will provide economic growth by stimulating employment, investment, and exports.

This follows the Prime Minister’s proportionate and pragmatic decision to delay the ban on new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035 – bringing the UK in line with countries such as Canada and Spain – which will support manufacturers and families in making the switch to electric, providing flexibility while also helping to grow the economy.

Dr Marco Landi, Head of Technology and Innovation, Electrification Services, JLR said:

We are delighted to be collaborating on this project with partners and the UK government to be able to accelerate and pioneer V2X technology. This funding will drive our work to make charging simpler, greener and cost effective, which is key to our all-electric future.

Working together with industry-leading partners, we are developing a complete EV ecosystem, from batteries to charging, supporting our net-zero transformation.

The programme is part of the overarching up to £65 million Flexibility Innovation Programme, supporting the efficient and flexible use of electricity, within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP).

£14 million cash boost to accelerate rollout of low carbon heating

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More than £14 million is being made available to accelerate the installation of heat pumps and heat networks across the country, as a new scheme launches to train thousands of installers.

Over £9.7 million will go towards 4 projects based across the country, from Bristol to Cambridgeshire – helping cut costs of these low carbon technologies, and reducing disruption to consumers by coordinating the wide-spread rollout in concentrated areas.

To propel the move to cleaner energy in homes, a new £5 million Heat Training Grant will support 10,000 trainees over the next 2 years to become low carbon heating experts – creating new green jobs and growing our economy in flourishing green industries. Grants of up to £500 will go towards training with heating manufacturers such as Panasonic, Valliant and Worcester-Bosch expected to offer additional discounts to participating trainees.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Lord Callanan, said:

This funding will give the rollout of heat pumps a huge boost by making them cheaper and easier to install, and importantly helping more households move away from costly fossil fuels.

But we need a skilled workforce to deliver this, so we’re training thousands of people to be experts at installing heat pumps and heat networks, driving the country’s push towards net zero.

We’re also making sure the cost of installing a heat pump is more affordable than ever before through grants of up to £6,000 through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and a zero rate on VAT. So, it’s right we also put funding in place to train installers to meet demand.

Heat pumps are highly efficient and reliable and are key to cutting carbon emissions using cheaper renewable energy produced here in the UK.

The government’s £60 million Heat Pump Ready programme aims to develop innovative solutions to reducing barriers to the rollout of low carbon technology in homes and businesses across the UK.

The 4 Heat Pump Ready projects, 2 in Oxfordshire and one each in Bristol and Cambridgeshire have been successful in the second phase of funding.

The innovation programme runs alongside the government’s £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme, that provides up to £6,000 grants to homeowners towards the cost of a heat pump, and a zero rate of VAT, making clean heating measures even more affordable for people looking to replace gas or oil boilers in their property.

Work on installing heat pumps purchased through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will begin in the successful projects from late December this year. The government expects heat pump deployment to reach 600,000 per year in 2028, a tenfold increase from 2021.

To meet demand, the Heat Training Grant will provide heating engineers with grants of up to £500 towards training.

The grant could cover most of the cost of a level 3 heat pump course, which takes one week or less for an experienced gas or oil heating installer to complete. In addition, heating manufacturers including Baxi, NIBE, Panasonic, Vaillant, Ideal Heating and Worcester-Bosch are expected to offer additional discounts and offers to participating trainees. These benefits could be worth up to a further £500 in product vouchers, additional training and other support, helping trainees put their new skills into practice.

Karen Boswell, Managing Director UK and Ireland at heating manufacturer Baxi, said:

We welcome the government’s investment in developing the new skills needed to support the growth of low-carbon heating solutions in homes and buildings.

We are fully committed to helping the industry transition to net zero, and we’re focused on helping individuals access opportunities to participate in the anticipated growth of air source heat pumps.

Shaun Edwards, CEO Groupe Atlantic UK, ROI and North America Divisions, said:

At Ideal Heating we believe installers will play a critical role in the decarbonisation of heating and we welcome further government funding targeted at heat pump training. Our Ideal Heating Expert Academy has also committed to providing additional subsidised training for installers participating in the government scheme.

This financial support, together with the forthcoming opening of our state-of the-art National Training and Technology Centre, will make the upskilling of the sector to install and maintain heat pumps as affordable and accessible as possible, to support the drive to net zero.

Carl Arntzen, CEO of Worcester Bosch said:

We are delighted to see the announcement by government of the funding for installers to become qualified to install heat pumps. There is great interest in future technologies and with this funding installers can gain the confidence and skills to offer heat pumps to their customers.

The latest support comes in addition to the £15 million government has already committed to developing skills in the energy efficiency and low carbon heating sectors since 2020.

The government already funds heat pump training through the Home Decarbonisation Skills Competition, however the new funding will now extend support for heat pumps until at least 2025, and also goes further by including training for heat networks.

The heat networks training courses will cover the full lifecycle of the systems from initial design to building, operation, and maintenance. Government is also aiming to develop a series of courses and online training videos for heat networks operation and maintenance.

By providing heat networks training support alongside heat pumps, areas of overlap and collaboration can be better explored, particularly around the installation of large-scale heat pumps for heat networks and shared ground loops.

Government is now seeking expressions of interest from training providers who wish to offer the new grants for heat pump training.

Drivers to benefit from £20 million EV chargepoint boost

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Drivers will have better access to electric vehicle chargepoints across the country, through a new pilot backed by £20 million of government and industry funding announced today (24 August 2022).

Through the innovative Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme, local authorities and industry will work together to create new, commercial EV charging infrastructure for residents, from faster on-street chargepoints to larger petrol station-style charging hubs.

The rollout supports the government’s drive to encourage more motorists to go electric, which can save drivers money on fuel and running costs, and improve air quality as the country moves towards net zero.

The winners of the pilot fund are:

  • Barnet
  • Dorset
  • Durham
  • Kent
  • Midlands Connect (with Lincolnshire as a lead authority)
  • North Yorkshire
  • Nottinghamshire
  • Suffolk
  • Warrington

The funding is expected to deliver over 1,000 public chargepoints across the areas.

The scheme will help residents without private driveways to have better access to EV chargers, as well as growing the charging network across the country, supporting the nation’s uptake of zero emission vehicles and enabling more people to drive and charge without fear of being caught short, no matter where they are.

The pilot is backed by £10 million of government funding shared among the 9 winning local authorities in the first tranche of the planned £450 million scheme, with winning pilot bids supported by an additional £9 million in private funding. A further £1.9 million will come from public funds across local authorities.

Decarbonisation Minister Trudy Harrison said:

We want to expand and grow our world-leading network of EV chargepoints, working closely with industry and local government, making it even easier for those without driveways to charge their electric vehicles and support the switch to cleaner travel.

This scheme will help to level up electric vehicle infrastructure across the country, so that everyone can benefit from healthier neighbourhoods and cleaner air.

Edmund King OBE, AA president, said:

It is essential that more on-street chargers are delivered to boost the transition to zero emission vehicles for those without home charging.

This injection of an extra £20 million funding will help bring power to electric drivers across England from Durham to Dorset. This is one further positive step on the road to electrification.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said:

We know that there are many drivers who do not have driveways or any form of off-street parking, so investing in streetside charging is an absolute necessity. Drivers can also look forward to the prospect of local charging hubs which will give them somewhere to quickly charge their vehicles without needing to drive any considerable distance. The goal must be to spark electric vehicle uptake by creating an excellent charging infrastructure that caters for everyone’s needs.

The scheme will allow local authorities to provide feedback on how to grow the network and the role the private sector can play.

The new LEVI fund builds on the success of the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) which has seen nearly 2,900 chargepoints installed so far with funding provided for approaching 10,000 additional chargepoints in the future.

Following growing demand from local authorities, we’re also announcing a further £10 million in funding which has been brought forward for this year, bringing this year’s ORCS funding to £30 million to help maintain ongoing installations.