Construction reacts to heat and buildings strategy

Yesterday the government finally published its long-delayed plan for decarbonising the UK’s 30 million buildings, the heat and buildings strategy.

Key announcements include £5,000 grants for homeowners to buy heat pumps and a delay to any decision about the use of hydrogen in heating systems until at least 2026.

But despite the government saying it wanted to insulate homes before installing greener heating, there was hardly any detail about how this would be done.

And with heat pumps starting at £7,000, and with installation costing up to £20,000, the grants provided risk falling well short of their intended aim of making the systems affordable and attractive to homeowners as an alternative to gas boilers.

The plan also contained some highly controversial proposals which will generate much discussion over the coming months and years.

A consultation has been launched on forcing gas boiler manufacturers to sell a required number of heat pumps to bring down the market price of the systems.

And the strategy floated the possibility of making it more difficult for mortgage providers to lend to less energy efficient homes.

Here’s how the construction industry reacted to yesterday’s announcements.

 

“Kick starting the heat pump market to reduce costs for households to make the switch from gas boilers is an important step, but progress will need to be monitored closely. Alongside encouraging heat pumps, the key question is whether natural gas is going to be replaced with hydrogen or the gas network decommissioned, and only government can decide when and where that happens.

“This means it is vital that government sticks to its schedule for making decisions on the future role of hydrogen for heating.”

National Infrastructure Commission chair John Armitt

“After over a year of waiting, this strategy does not go far enough. Positive references to ‘fabric first’ and ‘whole building’ approaches are overshadowed by the lack of adequate funding and the absence of vital embodied carbon targets for new buildings. The Government has clearly stated and shown an ambition to lead, but to do so it must urgently change gear. Now. Moving ahead, we hope for tighter regulation, substantial and sustained funding and adaptation of tax mechanisms to encourage ‘able to pay’ homeowners to retrofit their homes. The Government needs to define exactly how we will deliver ‘no- and low-regret’ actions. We’re hosting COP26 – we need to demonstrate global climate leadership.”

RIBA President Simon Allford

“The ambition set out in the UK Government’s Heat & Buildings Strategy to boost the take-up of heat pumps and reduce the use of gas boilers is welcome. So too the greater clarity on support for the transition to affordable energy which is so important for both businesses and homeowners across the country.

“The acknowledgment of the potential of hydrogen to decarbonise heat is also welcome, but industry would benefit from a decision being taken on its exact role earlier than 2026.”

WSP water, energy and industry managing director Mark Hurley

“More than one in three householders said they would need a grant of more than 50% of the cost [of a heat pump], so given that an air source heat pump can cost up to £18,000, the £5,000 subsidy may not be enough to encourage the majority to adopt a heating technology that is here and now and ready to go in terms of being a mass market solution.

“The government needs to seriously consider increasing the grant available, and extending its duration beyond three years, if we’re really going to make inroads in reaching net zero.”

RSK Group renewable heat director Darren Snaith

“The grant hardly sets the world alight and is insufficient to the scale of the challenge we face in terms of reaching Net Zero. My suspicion is that the chancellor is putting the brakes on the prime minister’s flight of green fantasy.

“The £5,000 grant only pays half the cost of a heat pump, so those in fuel poverty will see no warmth from the government’s generosity; instead, it is middle-class bung for people who were probably going to fit a heat pump anyway.

“For the same amount of money, £150 million a year, half a million homes could have loft insulation fitted, saving each household £135 a year, and removing 290,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year. Instead, removing 45,000 gas boilers, replacing them with the subsidised heat pumps will remove only 71,000 tonnes of carbon each year. This is hardly the COP figure the prime minister wants to read.”

Energy and Utilities Alliance chief executive Mike Foster

“All eyes will now be on the chancellor to see whether he will double down on the greener buildings agenda at next week’s Budget. Other big ticket announcements that could make the final cut include further tax incentives for homeowners that employ energy efficient measures, a possible new directive targeted at halving emissions from government buildings and tax breaks to developers who prioritise safeguarding biodiversity and habitat creation in new ventures. Green building passports, which go beyond EPCs to embrace other resources such as water could also be on the cards and we might also see a reinvigorated version of the Green Homes Grant announced, though any new incarnation would need to seriously address the multiple issues encountered since the initial launch in 2020.”

Gowling WLG environment specialist Ben Stansfield