The Government is set to ditch plans to ban new gas boilers from 2035 despite pushing for people to switch to heat pumps.
Home builders will be effectively banned from installing gas central heating and boilers in new homes under the government’s efforts to meet net zero targets.
However, a policy to stop owners of older homes from replacing existing gas boilers with new ones from 2035 is to be scrapped, according to the
Heat pumps, which are powered by electricity to heat homes and provide hot water, are currently used by only 1 percent of households, despite grants designed to bring down the cost.
They cost thousands of pounds more than gas boilers to buy and install, not least because they only work in homes where expensive gold standard insulation has been installed.
Home builders will be effectively banned from installing gas central heating and boilers (Image: Getty)
At the same time, the fact that they run on electricity means they are more expensive in terms of household energy bills than gas boilers.
The Conservatives had promised a total ban on all new gas boilers from 2035. said when he was Prime Minister: “We’ll never force anyone to rip out their existing boiler and replace it with a heat pump. You’ll only ever have to make the switch when you’re replacing your boiler anyway, and even then, not until 2035.”
But speaking before the general election, Labour’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband suggested he would scrap that rule, saying: “We haven’t stuck with the Government’s 2035 target when you can’t replace your gas boiler. I know that we’ve got to show that heat pumps are affordable and are going to work for people.”
The Government is now set to formally ditch the rule. Later this year, ministers will set out a “warm homes plan” with new details of how the switch to low-carbon heating methods will work.
It includes a “future homes standard”, which places stringent rules on developers building new homes.
Instead, all new homes will have to be heated with heat pumps or other forms of renewable-powered heating. But the rules will make it clear that no existing boilers need to be removed, as well as scrapping the 2035 mandate for an end to the sale of new boilers.
The Government declined to comment ahead of the publication of the warm homes plan and future homes standard.
Ministers argue that heat pumps can save families money, although some experts worry that they are still unaffordable for most with the average installation cost cited by British Gas of £5,690 even after the subsidy is applied. By contrast, a new gas boiler currently costs about £3,000.
The Government has pledged to cut UK carbon emissions by 81 per cent by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, before hitting net zero emissions in 2050.