The UK Government will be allocating £295 million ($308.4 million) as a part of the grant, which funds the transition of homes from gas boilers to heat pump in the 2025–26 fiscal year. All this is part of a greater effort to encourage clean heating technologies, including removing planning regulations and requirements for air-source heat pumps, which will take effect in early 2025.

The government will also upgrade its boiler upgrade scheme with around £30 million for the 2024–25 fiscal year, totaling £150 million. The overall 2025–26 budget will nearly double to 295 million. Since its launch in 2021, the scheme has seen a steady increase, with October observing the highest number of applications to date.

There’s also a very significant reform that will mean air-source heat pumps can be put in without the need for planning applications, specifically to help address concerns around restrictions near property boundaries. Research from Octopus Energy shows that one in three customers fall out of the process due to hurdles with planning permission, so this is a change widely supported by industry players.

These plans form part of the government’s Warm Homes Plan, which aims to spend £3.2 billion by 2026 on enabling a higher level of energy efficiency in homes—especially in social housing. These upgrades are estimated to help up to 300,000 households in the next year.

Researchers from the University of Strathclyde have backed the information that the potential heat from the pump rollouts might mitigate high energy prices based on the simulations suggesting that strategic expansion of heat pump installations could reduce the costs for UK households significantly.

Source: PV Magazine