New YouGov polling undertaken on behalf of the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) suggests that the overwhelming number of adults in the UK are unwilling to pay the sums required to decarbonise their homes with a heat pump.
When asked how much they were willing to pay to have a low carbon heating system installed in their home, only 4% said more than £5000. According to DESNZ, the average installation cost of a heat pump under the BUS is £13,000, so even if households received the £7500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme subsidy, they would still need to find an average of £5500 themselves to fit a heat pump.
Commenting on the findings, Mike Foster CEO of EUA says: “Heat pumps have a role to play in decarbonising UK homes, especially for the relatively well-off. For the vast majority of households, they simply are unwilling to spend the sums needed to fit them. When we asked the same question last year, we got the same result. And I make this prediction now, when we ask the same question next year we will get the same answer again.
“As a trade body we are technology agnostic; our members will supply what the consumer wants. But if year after year they signal an unwillingness to spend the sums needed for a heat pump, then other technologies are going to be needed to get to net zero.
“Apart from the high initial cost for fitting a heat pump, consumers using a standard tariff face higher running bills than a gas boiler, too. It should not be a surprise to find that asking consumers to pay more for the same service – heating a home – is not a popular option. Something needs to change.”
The online poll of over 2000 adults (undertaken between 19th and 20th June) also confirms that UK consumers remain supportive of the UK’s ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, with 65% saying it was important (against 27% saying it was not important); down slightly from last year (69% to 21%).
