Record heat pump demand from oil-heated homes

Demand for heat pumps has reached a record high, with thousands of heating-oil households in England and Wales taking advantage of a £9,000 government grant to move away from fossil-fuel heating.

A total of 8,150 applications were made through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) in July, according to figures published by the UK government in late August. That was an 81% increase on June and 112% higher than the same month last year.

The government has increased the BUS grant from £7,500 to £9,000 for households switching from heating oil or liquified petroleum gas (LPG), with the additional funding available until March next year.

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Rural households form a significant part of the programme, accounting for 49% of BUS grants awarded over the past four years. Some 38% of grants have gone to homes off the gas grid.

Minister for local jobs and energy Martin McCluskey welcomed the record number of applications and urged eligible households to take advantage of the increased support.

He said heat pumps offer oil-heated homes greater certainty over energy costs, while helping shield them from volatile fuel prices.

Addressing farmers, he said they remained central to the nation’s food security and environmental stewardship, adding that the government’s role was to “make energy more affordable and support climate action”.

For some rural homeowners, the grant has made the upfront cost of switching more manageable.

In Cornwall, Ross said the move had shielded him against future oil price rises.

“What we’ve done is we’ve insulated ourselves against future price rises as far as the price of oil is concerned,” he said.

Carmarthenshire homeowner Adrian, who installed a heat pump after his oil boiler reached the end of its life, said the system had kept his home warm even in freezing conditions.

“We went down to -6C in the winter and it was still warm in the house. The technology is amazing,” he said.

Plug-in solar panels

The UK government has also backed the rollout of plug-in solar panels, which can legally be bought and installed in Great Britain and could help households save up to £110/year on their energy bills by generating clean, home-grown electricity.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is not available in Scotland and Northern Ireland, which have separate support schemes.