UK's Net Zero Strategy: Assessing the Need for a Wider Perspective

The UK’s Net Zero Strategy received a boost at the tail end of 2023, with the government’s flagship Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) having an additional ￡1.5 billion added to the pot in late December.

The additional ￡1.5 billion, comes just a few after the upgrade scheme’s grant was increased from its initial ￡5,000 to ￡7,500. Raised in an attempt to boost the urgency and demand for the products. The additional money comes as no surprise. But is it time to assess other options and broaden the horizons of the UK’s Net Zero Strategy?

Whilst the number of installs is expected to have risen across the country in 2023, it’s not expected to be an astronomical increase on the figures for 2022, which closed at a lowly 55,000.?

The government’s target is 600,000 by the year 2028.?

The increase in grants and budget does show that the government has and is willing to spend money. The question remains if such large sums should continue to be thrown at such an important time-sensitive scheme, when time is running out.?

Expansions and Alternatives

The number of heat pump applications every week did rise from 331 to 1,172 since the increase of the grant. However, even with the rise in applications, sustained at that level over the course of the year, would still only provide just under 61,000 applications.?

It’s also worth noting that applications do not always translate into installations.

In the period May 2023 to November 2023, 30,000 applications were made but only 20,000 vouchers were issued, and when looking into the number of redemptions, the figure drops even lower to 17,000.?

Entering its third year, and already having experienced two expansions; increasing the scope and options of the BUS would provide it with a vastly needed injection of life.

Questions Over Suitability Still Hang

A mid-2023 survey found that two-thirds of those who installed a heat pump without any major insulation upgrades to their home were said to be satisfied. Despite this, the technology still isn’t suitable for every home.?

The options offered by the BUS - Air Source Heat Pumps, Ground Source, and Biomass Boilers all suffer from the same problem: they are bound by placement. An Air Source Heat Pump needs to be placed on the side of a property (with adequate space), and a Biomass Boiler requires a flue, limiting its positioning.?

Allowing for alternative products that have flexibility and high levels of efficiency could have a knock-on effect and help reinvigorate the faltering scheme.

Electric Boilers and Electric Heating are just two unexplored options from the government and provide an alternative that has the advantage of feeling familiar, due to the longstanding love affair with gas and wet radiators and providing greater efficiency.?

Electric Boilers, Electric Heating

Electric Boilers command a similar installation price as their carbon counterparts but come with much-desired modern flexibility. The lack of requirement for a flue or gas pipe allows electric boilers to be placed almost anywhere in a household, potentially freeing up storage space,?

As Electric Boilers can be used with existing, traditional radiators, disruption is minimised and the lack of multiple moving parts stops the need for annual servicing. With the gas boiler ban looming large for new builds in 2025 and outright in 2035, allowing the public to use the BUS to actually upgrade their boiler, rather than swap it for a new system, would encourage higher applications.?

Electric Heating also provides a level of versatility by allowing individual rooms to be heated,?

Modern, electric radiators can be wirelessly controlled allowing specific temperatures to be set throughout the different rooms in households

The room-by-room functionality gives further control over heating than traditional methods, can help reduce energy use, but importantly still provides a level of familiarity.?

Raising Awareness?

One of the biggest boundaries in the UK’s Net Zero Strategy is a lack of awareness of the products on offer or how they function. The early days of the BUS suffered with 50% of the public having never heard of a heat pump despite most having a basic knowledge of net zero.?

Heat Pumps remain an excellent alternative to high-carbon oil and gas heating systems because of their excellent efficiency.? And whilst studies have shown high satisfaction rates, the level of myth and rumor surrounding the technology could have already caused irreplaceable damage.

Addressing this dilemma of misinformation,? alongside the technical/installation limits that impact high-rise flats and smaller properties is enough of a reason to start to look for alternatives to help prop up the current scheme.?

2023 was confirmed, globally, to be the hottest year on record, with temperatures 1.48C warmer than the long-term average before humans started burning fossil fuels. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if 2024 then replaced it. In line with the Paris Agreement, there is only 0.52C of heating left before the point of no return.?

If there was ever an indicator for an urgent reassessment of the UK’s Net Zero Strategy it’s now.?