on-off switch showing green behaviours

Businesses unite in call for a fair heat deal

Businesses are calling on government to make clean heating affordable to all, in an open letter ahead of the publication of the Heat and Buildings Strategy.

More than 20 businesses and organisations, including the Energy Saving Trust (EST), the Heat Pump Federation and the Federation of Master Builders, say the UK needs a ‘fair heat deal’ that protects consumers and makes sure no-one is left out of pocket in the fight against climate change, and that it must be ‘attractive, easy and fair for every household to switch their heating’ from a fossil fuel boiler to a low-carbon option.

The letter says: “The government and its independent scientific advisors are right that the way we heat our homes must change quickly if we are to reach net zero. Emissions from heating our homes are higher than those from household transport, and heat across all buildings makes up 23 per cent of the UK’s contribution to climate change.

“Alongside vital energy efficiency measures to reduce energy demand for heat, heat pumps will have the largest role to play in decarbonising our heat supply in the 2020s, alongside other solutions. This constitutes a significant investment in the UK’s future, and brings enormous economic opportunity. As market growth progresses, costs will come down – just like they did for wind power and are currently doing for electric vehicles. But to get there, it must be attractive, easy and fair for every household to switch their heating from the word go.”

The letter sets out five actions the organisations believe the government must introduce to create this Fair Heat Deal:

  1. Offer upfront financial support for households to buy heat pumps
  2. Ensure lower running costs for heat pumps compared to gas boilers
  3. Introduce incentives that encourage households to make green heat choices
  4. Set up a Warm Homes Agency to oversee the scaling of existing initiatives
  5. Ensure that there are impartial energy advice and support services for consumers.

This, the coalition says, would reduce energy bills, channel investment directly into our communities, workforces and businesses, and help everyone to benefit from warmer, healthier homes.

EST chief executive Mike Thornton said: “With the climate emergency upon us, there is no time to waste and we need to take positive action. A Fair Heat Deal will make heat pumps more attractive to householders and help them to switch over to low-carbon heating.”

The full letter can be read at https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy-saving-trust-joins-coalition-in-call-for-fair-heat-deal/

   

 

 

 

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