The existing ban on gas boilers in favour of heat pumps will be lifted if the Labour Party wins the general election, according to Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
Heat pumps are seen as a viable way to reduce energy costs and meet net zero targets. Currently, the Conservative-led government has pledged to replace traditional boilers with environmentally friendly units, despite concerns about installation costs.
Earlier this year, Energy Minister Claire Coutinho confirmed – to the annoyance of climate activists – that the planned ban on gas boilers in new buildings would be postponed from 2025 to 2035.
But the Labour Party appears to have gone a step further and scrapped the proposed ban altogether, as many families continue to struggle with the ongoing cost of living crisis.
However, Miliband has said he hopes to decarbonise Britain’s energy supply by building more onshore wind turbines across the country.
Almost all the heat that Britons generate for heating comes from traditional gas boilers installed in 25 million homes and from oil-fired alternatives installed in up to a million stoves.
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The shadow minister said Labour remained committed to introducing heat pumps into homes, but noted that any future government would need to do more to convince families it was a worthwhile investment.
He told The Telegraph: “On heating, as we said in our manifesto, nobody will be forced to rip out their boiler. We are absolutely clear about that. We have not met the Government’s 2035 target of not being able to replace your gas boiler.”
“I know we need to show that heat pumps are affordable and work for people. For many people, including me, heat pumps already work. I have a heat pump and a battery, but it has to work economically for everyone.
“We have been through a cost of living crisis and we are still going through a cost of living crisis. So we cannot do this in a way that ordinary people end up paying more for it. And that is absolutely what our government will be focused on when we are in power.”
Although Labour is not meeting the current government’s timetable for banning gas boilers, Miliband praised the Tories for introducing the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which will make it easier to install heat pumps in thousands of homes.
Under this initiative, families can apply for grants to support the installation of heat pumps and biomass boilers in their homes and outbuildings in England and Wales.
Installers can currently apply for funding in the following amounts, with £450 million earmarked for this over the period 2022-2025:
- £7,500 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump
- £7,500 discount on the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump, including water source heat pumps
- £5,000 discount on the cost and installation of a biomass boiler.
Miliband added: “Frankly, I think increasing the heat pump grant to £7,500 was a good thing that the current government has done alongside a number of bad things.
“Compared to other countries, the use of heat pumps in our country is absolutely miserable. In cooperation with the private sector, we want to make it economically viable for people to actually install heat pumps.”
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The government wants to install 600,000 heat pumps annually by 2028P.A.
Households are forced to contend with historically high energy bills in the face of the cost of living crisis
However, between 1 July and 30 September 2024, Ofgem’s energy price cap will be reduced to £1,568 per year for a typical household using electricity and gas and paying by direct debit.
That’s £122 less than the cap set at £1,690 between 1 April and 30 June 2024.
Nevertheless, energy costs are expected to rise again later in the year, in the winter months.