The Committee of Public Accounts published its report on decarbonising home heating on 26 May 2024, concluding that progress to date does not convince it that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will meet its heat pump target of 600,000 installations a year by 20281.
The committee describes decarbonising home heating as one of the biggest challenges to the government achieving net zero, requiring almost all 28 million UK households to engage in the transition1. Households using fossil fuel heating such as gas boilers will need to switch to a low-carbon alternative such as heat pumps, but the report says far fewer households than expected have installed one so far. An average heat pump is currently four times more expensive than a gas boiler, and electricity prices mean heat pumps can be more expensive to run1.
The report sets out several obstacles. Consumers face what it calls too much complexity and confusion to make informed decisions, including understanding whether they need insulation upgrades to manage their energy bills. DESNZ faces a substantial challenge to increase the number of trained heat pump installers to support an elevenfold increase in installations1. The committee says the department needs to be realistic about levels of consumer demand, raise public awareness and work with industry to make heat pumps more affordable, and that it will be essential to monitor installation rates against the ambition and evaluate progress regularly1.
On households where a heat pump is not practical, the report says DESNZ is still to work out how it will support them to decarbonise their homes1. It also says the government's plans for decarbonising the power sector are delayed substantially1.
"Indecision over the role of hydrogen for heating is creating uncertainty for investors who need to invest in major low-carbon technologies."
The report notes that the government committed in its October 2021 Heat and Buildings strategy to decide on the role of hydrogen for heating in 2026, that DESNZ's work to test hydrogen for heating has been beset by problems with key trials cancelled, and that DESNZ has announced it will not progress work on a hydrogen town pilot until after 20261.
Why it matters for households
The report frames the transition as one that reaches almost every home in the UK, and its findings bear on the practical choices behind a household's heat pump policy and targets decisions. Two cost points stand out: the upfront price of an average heat pump relative to a gas boiler, and running costs affected by electricity prices1. The committee also points to uncertainty over whether insulation upgrades are needed, which affects both the cost of a switch and its effect on bills1.
For a home's energy independence, the report identifies two dependencies in the current picture. The pace of the transition depends on the number of trained installers, which the committee says must rise elevenfold to support the 2028 ambition1. And the low-carbon electricity that heat pumps run on depends on power sector decarbonisation, which the report says is delayed substantially1. Households where a heat pump is not a practical solution have no settled route set out, according to the report1.
What happens next
The report is a House of Commons committee report with recommendations to government, and the Government has two months to respond1. The report states that DESNZ has announced it will not progress work on a hydrogen town pilot until after 2026, and that the decision on the role of hydrogen for heating, committed to in the October 2021 Heat and Buildings strategy, is due in 20261. No further dates are given in the report summary.
Sources1 cited
- Decarbonising home heating - Committee of Public Accounts, publications.parliament.uk