Maria Caulfield, Member of Parliament for Lewes, has welcomed the announcement that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will offer £7,500 towards the cost of a new heat pump – a 50% increase in the support available for air source models and making it one of the most generous schemes in Europe.
Estimates place the typical cost of buying and installing a gas boiler at between £2,500 and £3,000 and starting prices for heat pumps can now be below this for some households, when taking advantage of the grant and additional discounts offered by energy suppliers.
The increased grants form part of the government’s pragmatic, proportionate and realistic approach to reaching net zero – reducing costs on British families (after huge pressures families have faced over the last couple of years) while still meeting international commitments.
Anyone interested just needs to agree a quote for the work with an MCS certified installer, who will then do all the paperwork. Ofgem will simply contact the customer after that to confirm they would like to proceed.
As well as increasing the air source heat pump grant from £5,000 to £7,500, ground source heat pump grants have risen from £6,000 to £7,500, and households can still access £5,000 grants for biomass boilers.
Maria Caulfield MP said:
“I welcome this announcement from government, it is now that case that for some households installing a heat pump could be cheaper than a gas boiler thanks to this increase in grant funding. This will help thousands of people across the country reduce their energy use and keep their homes warm”