Poorer households should be given free heat pumps as part of plans to axe gas boilers, experts have told the government.
Heat pumps are being widely looked at as the replacement for gas boilers - but they’re not cheap to install and can cost between £6,000 to £18,000.
Working essentially like a fridge in reverse, these devices extract warmth from the air or the ground, or from water.
As experts reckon most homes will be heated by them eventually, more than 20 organisations have signed an open letter calling for financial support for low-income households.
The coalition is made up of companies representing builders and construction businesses, energy companies and civil society groups - including the Federation of Master Builders, Energy UK and Friends of the Earth.
The open letter comes as households are being warned that new gas boilers could be banned from 2025 under proposals to tackle climate change.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said no new fossil fuel boilers should be sold, except where they are compatible with hydrogen, if the UK is to meet its target of net zero emissions by 2050.
Juliet Phillips, a senior policy adviser at the E3G thinktank, one of the organisations behind the call, said: “Moving from a gas boiler to a heat pump is one of the biggest carbon savings a household can make.
“But it must be affordable and we urge the government to support our fair heat deal to ensure no one is left behind in the green industrial revolution.
“If done right, the UK can lead the world in reducing carbon emissions from heat while slashing energy bills, boosting the economy and protecting the fuel poor.”
Mike Thornton, the chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, added: “For the UK to reach its net zero targets, we need real pace and scale in rolling out heat pumps.
“A fair heat deal will provide the confidence, clarity and certainty which will unlock the investment required for this.”
Experts who signed the letter also want environmental levies scrapped from energy bills, to ensure it is always cheaper to run a heat pump than a boiler.
As well as covering the full cost of installation of the heat pumps for struggling households, the coalition would also like to see lower-level grants for other families.
As these are just suggestions to the government, there is nothing to say that these ideas will eventually become reality.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We are already leading the way to ensure affordability and fairness are at the heart of clean heating reforms, and more detail on our approach will be provided in the upcoming heat and buildings strategy.
“We are supporting lower income households and vulnerable people to make homes greener and cut energy bills, and will continue to do so through schemes such as the home upgrade grant and the new clean heat grant from April next year.”
