Thursday 31 March 2022

Third of Brits keen to install heat pumps to ditch Russian gas

Nearly 33% of Brits have said they would be more likely to get an electric heat pump to help the UK insulate from Russia’s interference in the gas market.

That’s according to a new survey by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) which shows that almost half of all the so-called ‘heat pump ready homes’ are interested in installing a heat pump.

That is equivalent to around seven million homes, the research suggests.

It had been previously estimated that more than 1.7 million British households could be powered by Russian gas.

This Friday the government’s Boiler Upgrade scheme opens – it will offer grants of up to £6,000 to encourage more homeowners to install low carbon heating systems.

Cherilyn Mackrory, Conservative MP for Truro and Falmouth said: “Heat pumps are now cheaper to run than gas boilers, so helping more households upgrade their heating system will shield bill payers from volatile international gas prices.

“Combined with insulation, we can stay warmer in our homes and ease the cost of living crisis while reducing our reliance on imported gas and defunding Putin’s war machine.”

Yesterday, not-for-profit trade body Energy and Utilities Alliance dubbed heat pumps “not a good investment”.