The government‘s Boiler Upgrade Scheme, aimed at making household heating more environmentally friendly, has had a weak start in its first year.

The scheme offers £5,000 grants to help households transition to heat pumps. 

However, according to government data, it fell short of its target, issuing only half of the intended 30,000 grants in England and Wales.

Experts attribute this to a lack of installers and the cost of properly insulating homes.

The scheme will continue until 2028, but the unspent £70 million in grants from the previous year will be returned to the Treasury.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: “The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has paid out more than £70 million of vouchers to installers so far and consumers can now install a heat pump for a similar price to a gas boiler and will further benefit from the scheme being extended until 2028.

“Following our successful year one marketing campaign, we have recently started promoting the scheme again and intend to widen promotion later in the year.

“Industry has reported an increased level of enquiries and we are confident that deployment will increase as the year progresses.”