Heat pumps way behind target as experts say high prices put people off
Heat pump installations have failed to meet Government targets for the second year in a row, with critics saying high prices are still putting consumers off.
The Government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) gives grants of up to £7,500 to households for fitting a heat pump to their property.
The latest figures show that the scheme paid out £88.8million in 2023/24, against a budget of £150million. Last year the BUS paid out £51million.
It's experts again. What does a chap say about statements such as "experts say high prices put people off"?
As loons drag us over the cliff which was supposedly reserved for lemmings, this blogging lark becomes more and more difficult. It's no good merely describing the behaviour of loons as loony.
8 comments:
Heat pumps may work well in some circumstances, just like EVs. But if your house/flat/apartment/parking arrangements preclude those things then no amount of subsidy will recompense you, especially if you already have a fossil fuel car or central heating?
Plus the Government is not providing those grants - ordinary tax payers are. I'm sure better use could be made of my taxes. Still that's democracy for you.
...and since reality is way behind the target, we must change reality. Perhaps we should abandon Net Zero as a legal target and set it as a desirable direction of travel? All the Greens and Climate Activists can spend their own money and the rest of us will watch and see what works.
To pick a nit: we have two heat pumps in our kitchen, though by convention we refer to them as fridges.
Is there any test of economic competence less stringent than giving away free money?
The government have just failed it.
DJ - it's the enforced targets which are so absurd and also sinister because they clearly don't benefit the UK. It should be left as an unsubsidised market for Greens and activists to take up if they wish and demonstrate the benefits if they can.
dearieme - we have a fridge and freezer which suggest that the central heating versions must have some de-icing system.
Sam - and free money for the better off. It's remarkably telling that the Labour party isn't jumping up and down about it.
@AKH
Our fridge/freezer has an occasional heating process to dislodge ice formed on the cooling coils. Every now and again there's a clunk as bits of ice slide off.
It's not the high price that's putting me off. It's:
They don't work well enough to heat my property effectively
I have a good gas boiler, so I don't need a heat pump
I don't want a heat pump
The Government wants to make me have a heat pump, so I more don't want a heat pump
After that lot, there's no point worrying about the price
DJ - our freezer is one of the frost-free ones which use fans to prevent ice ever building up. It works very well and doesn't seem to be expensive to run, but it can be quite noisy.
Bucko - I don't think a heat pump would heat our thirties house very well either. A neighbour in a newer house has one and says it works okay but costs as much to run as the gas boiler did. So there are no savings, no return on the installation cost and nothing has been improved.
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