Up to 1,150 families sign up for UK heat pump scheme

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero says the latest round for its Boiler Upgrade Scheme – an initiative awarding GBP 7,500 ($9,500) to families in England and Wales to replace traditional boilers for heat pumps – “surged” with a threefold increase in applications.

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The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said last week that the recently wrapped-up round of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme – an initiative designed to urge property owners to switch to low-carbon heating – “surged” with more than 1,150 applications.

“In the first week after our 50% increase to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, applications tripled,” Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said.

Homeowners in England and Wales could apply for a £7,500 grant to replace their traditional fuel-burning boilers with 45kWth heat pumps.

The UK government said the program aims to “encourage property owners to replace existing fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low carbon heating systems including heat pumps and biomass boilers.”

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Applications for the scheme’s latest round grew more than threefold than the average weekly rate before the change in grant fees, the UK government said. Applications were 60% higher than the previous average, according to the announcement.

From May 2022 to October 2023 as part of the program, up to 7,374 gas-fuelled boilers and 3,216 oil-fuelled boilers have been switched out for heat pumps, with most (57%) of the 15,456 properties located rurally (57%) compared to urban (43%), according to UK government data.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme started in May 2023 and will finish in December 2027.

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