UK households could soon be eligible for £7,500 grants to install air conditioning heat pumps, under proposals being considered by ministers.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which currently supports property owners in replacing outdated boilers, is limited to heat pumps that provide heating only and cannot pump out cool air.
However, ministers are now said to be considering amendments that would allow claims for dual-function heat pumps, according to the Telegraph.
Campaigners say updating the scheme to include air-to-air heat pumps would allow households to benefit from energy-efficient heating in winter and air conditioning during increasingly frequent summer heatwaves.
Pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade is leading the push, calling for all new homes to be built with air conditioning and for government grants to be expanded to cover cooling systems.
“Summer’s never been hotter. Electricity has never been cleaner. It’s time to ditch the anti-air con rules, written for a world where summer was 25C and our electricity was coal-powered,” the group said.
Air conditioning has become a growing political issue after a string of summer heatwaves, including a peak of 35.8C in Kent on 1 July.
The number of UK households using air conditioning has risen significantly — from just 3 per cent in 2011 to 20 per cent in 2022, according to a recent study.
However, not everyone supports the proposed change. London Mayor Sadiq Khan is calling for better home ventilation instead of air conditioning, warning that it has “significant energy requirements”.
Meanwhile, Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho criticised the current restrictions: “This is a poverty mindset that we need to get away from. Our energy policy should fit what people want to do, not the other way around. We have to make Britain cool again.”
Traditional air conditioning systems, widely used in hotter parts of Europe, can place heavy demands on electricity grids and increase energy bills by thousands. Experts warn that air con could raise national energy demand by up to 45 per cent by 2050, raising concerns about blackouts and pressure on power stations.
Heat pumps, central to the UK’s Net Zero strategy, can cost up to £13,000 to install. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme — launched under the previous Conservative leadership — provides up to £7,500 toward this cost.
Despite a government target of 600,000 installations a year, only 365,397 have been completed since the start of 2024, according to the MCS Foundation.
The scheme spent just a third of its allocated budget in its first year, though it is forecast to overspend this tax year. Nearly £2 billion has been set aside for the initiative until March 2028.
