The armchair critics are wrong, energy efficiency isn’t unpopular and green still means GO in the UK

Solar PV and Heat Pump installations rose in 2024, as did EV sales. So why is everyone dismissing the progress actually being made?

You’d be forgiven for thinking the appetite for green energy took a knock in 2024. A climate-change denier as incoming US president; more tales of woe about poorly installed systems creating unlivable homes; car companies struggling to sell electric vehicles and political parties knocking the topic of energy efficiency down the agenda in favour of hotter-button issues propelled by the media.

But what do the figures actually say?

The deployment of solar energy systems and heat pumps are a good indicator for gauging our commitment to cleaner fuel at home, and EV sales indicate consumer consensus on the road, so we contacted the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

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Solar PV?

At the end of November 2024, a total of 17.6 GW of solar capacity in the UK across 1,680,000 installations – an increase of 7.4 percent (1.2 GW) on the previous year.?

Between 2016 and 2021, the median number of new monthly installations was around 3,000 a month. Between November 2023 and November 2024, that figure was more than 15,000 installations a month.

The bulk of solar PV installations in the UK are domestic, however these only account for 30 percent of the total capacity.?

In November 2024, for example, 69 percent of the new schemes were installed on a residential building, adding a total of 56 MW.

Heat pumps

The latest available Government figures on heat pumps are for the 12 months leading to September 2024. During this time there were 38,305 heat pumps installed in the UK, either partially or fully funded by the Government. The majority funded through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the Energy Company Obligation (49% and 46%, respectively).

In total, there was a 46 percent increase in the number of Government-supported heat pumps in this time (38,305 compared to 26,314 in the year ending September 2023). Of these, the majority of installations took place in Wales (18%), followed by the South West (14%) and then the South East (12%). The smallest proportion was in London and the North East (3% each), perhaps indicating the complexity of making these installations in high-density residential and built-up areas.

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Battery Electric Vehicles

Ask most people and they’ll tell you the pushback on electric vehicles (EVs) is stronger than ever, lamenting range anxiety, poor charging networks and pointing to brands exiting the EV market while extolling the virtues of good old diesel and petrol.?

But battery electric vehicle sales reached record levels in the UK last year, with 381,970 registered; up 21.4 percent on the previous year. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), this amounts to a record 19.6 percent market share, up from 16.5 percent in 2023.

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So is the story all positive?

There are two sides to every story. Record EV market share sounds good until you consider the fact it falls short of the Government’s mandated 22 per cent. And it’s also the result of manufacturer discounting totaling more than GBP 4.5 billion, or to paraphrase the SMMT, the industry is pulling every lever to try and achieve this target, an amount that it concedes “is not sustainable in the long term”.

Equally, the rise in heat pump installations is fine until you compare it with the fact the Government is on track to miss its projected installations under its ECO4 obligation when that comes to an end in Spring 2026.

According to Ofgem results as of 9 December 2024, approved projects under its primary Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation (HHCRO) sit at just 54 percent, with a further 15 percent notified. This obligation requires energy suppliers to achieve a total of ￡224.3 million in annual bill savings for domestic premises by 31 March 2026.

The scheme began at the end of July 2022, so either the forecasts were overly optimistic, the messaging is unclear, or the market simply hasn’t developed the appetite.?

But in truth, little to nothing has changed. The direction of travel is mandated and the markets are adapting to it. We’re not going to revert to fossil fuels, and we remain the sole custodians of this little rock circling the sun, trying to reduce the destructive consequences of profligacy.

Adapting your property or business to operate cleanly and efficiently will always be a wise move, but if energy independence comes at too high a cost, then you need to work with a team who can guide you correctly.

Energy efficiency is increasingly important to homeowners. According to BVA-BDRC research, more than a third of them begin each year looking to downsize their portfolios – despite a surplus of demand. If a property is cheaper to heat, it lowers bills and reduces the probability of arrears.

Tenants, meanwhile, continue to seek dry properties without damp and mould, that don’t cost the earth to keep warm. Their goals align with those of their landowners because lower costs mean lower bills, and the balance can instead be turned into revenue – a necessity given the added cost of converting their property.

The Green Landlady offers consultancy for businesses and small groups, retrofit and energy-efficiency training. We have years of experience finding the correct solutions for our client base of efficiency-energy minded homeowners and businesses, our founder Raquel Queral is an expert on all things green, and a regular fixture on the conference circuit, on podcasts and at tradeshows.

If you’re a homeowner or business owner and you’d like to know how to create a greener home for an affordable cost, then there are many ways to go about it. From getting an assessment done that avoids the risks of destabilising your home’s natural heat and moisture ecosystem (see: black mould), to learning more about the funding and grants that are available for home improvement, we at The Green Landlady are here to help.

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For more information on the topics discussed in this article, or to learn more about green property development, visit The Green Landlady website or get in touch here.