New heat pump rule change announcement today means UK homes 'can claim £9,000'
The Government has issued a change
Households grappling with the spiralling costs of heating oil are set to receive larger grants to swap their oil boilers for electric heat pumps, the Government has confirmed. Ministers are boosting grants under the "boiler upgrade scheme", which currently provides £7,500 for households to replace their fossil fuel boiler with a heat pump, to £9,000 for properties dependent on heating oil and LPG.
Officials say the move will benefit households and small businesses across England and Wales, particularly those in rural communities, helping them to electrify their heating systems and gain greater stability over their energy bills. Families warming their homes with heating oil or LPG have faced rocketing costs in the aftermath of the Iran war.
Data reveals that prices for heating oil – which falls outside the Ofgem energy price cap that shields consumers with gas boilers from extreme energy price surges – doubled to record highs between February and March.
The Government has already pledged £53 million in targeted assistance for "vulnerable" heating oil consumers, concentrated on "those households that are most exposed".
Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: "Heating oil and LPG customers have been among the hardest hit by the current crisis."
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"The three million households relying on these fuels sit outside the energy price cap and have no equivalent protection when global prices spike.
"These households are disproportionately in rural areas, have lower incomes, and live in older, harder-to-upgrade properties."
He stated that the £9,000 grant for these homes would be "very welcome", however it may not entirely close the gap for those unable to afford the remaining costs or whose properties require substantial work to make them suitable for a heat pump.
An air source heat pump costs £11,000 to install on average, though the cost varies on the size of the heat pump, the size and age of the property, and any upgrades such as new radiators that are needed, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
Mr Francis said: "Therefore, the expansion of this scheme must be accompanied by specialist local advice for households, stronger consumer protections during the works, and targeted additional support for those who cannot meet the shortfall.
"The measure of success is not how many grants are issued, but whether the households most exposed to fossil fuel price shocks are genuinely better off as a result."
