Nearly three million homes in England are now reporting overheating, up from 1.7 million in 2019, according to new government figures.
The data has prompted Nesta, the research and innovation foundation, to call for wider uptake of air-to-air heat pumps, arguing they could help households stay cool in summer while cutting emissions from heating in winter.
The new data finds that between 2019 and 2024, the proportion of occupied dwellings in England where households reported overheating increased from 7% to 12%, from 1.7 million to 3 million.
Despite this increase, many people were still having to resort to more traditional methods of cooling. The most common methods of keeping cool in 2024-25 were reported as opening the windows (89.7%), closing shutters/curtains/blinds (74.7%) or switching on a fan (58.7%).
Just 7.5% reported turning on air conditioning (AC). Of this group, owner occupiers (8.7%) were more likely to switch on an air conditioner to cool down than private renters (3.7%).
Nesta is highlighting that more needs to be done to ensure people are getting help adapting homes to extreme heat (and humidity) in the UK – and that home decarbonisation can go hand in hand with making air conditioning a key pillar in helping people to cope with the heat.
Andrew Sissons, director of sustainable future at Nesta, says:
“As we experience hotter temperatures each summer, it is a real concern that for many people home is no respite. Overheating is not trivial – not only does it cause discomfort and reduce productivity, including for many people who work from home – but it is a big health risk, with rising excess deaths due to heat, particularly among older people.
“Somewhat surprisingly, air conditioning can be part of the solution not only for reducing overheating, but also for reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuel heating systems. Most air con units are air-to-air heat pumps, which can be used for much-needed cooling in summer and as a very efficient electric heat source to replace fossil fuel systems like gas boilers in winter. People will soon be able to get £2,500 towards replacing their boiler with these heating and cooling systems, but the government could make further tweaks to make this the easy choice for more people.”
Built-in air conditioning units are mostly a form of air-to-air (A2A) heat pumps, meaning they can work as a low-carbon heating system, while also adding air conditioning during the summer. England currently lags behind other countries when it comes to AC uptake, with under 5% of homes in England having AC, compared to 24% in France, 60% in China and 91% in Japan.
In April, it was announced that the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) will offer £2,500 grants for certified installations of air-to-air heat pumps, alongside the £7,500 grants for other types of heat pump, such as air-to-water heat pumps that utilise a house’s radiators like a boiler. In addition, a new government report published today finds that A2A heat pumps, together with supplementary electric heaters (such as those used in bathrooms), provided space heating at a greater combined efficiency for three out of five home archetypes, when compared to other types of heating systems (including combi gas boilers).
Nesta is highlighting this summer as an opportunity for the UK government to consider expanding permitted development for two outdoor heat pump units to other (non-detached) property types. Similarly, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 could be changed to reduce the challenges associated with strict leaseholds installing these kinds of systems.
