Alpha has urged policymakers to consider expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to include hybrid heating systems.
The scheme currently offers £7,500 off the cost and installation of air source, ground and water source heat pumps. It also offers £5,000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler.
Research conducted by Alpha this year found that 74% of UK household billpayers claim they care about the carbon footprint of their home. It also found that 38% would be likely to opt for a non-fossil-fuel-based system. Cost was called out as the primary barrier to making a change to a more sustainable heating appliance.
Alpha said that making the switch to a standalone heat pump system is often not an easy decision due to the necessary upgrades required to the home, in addition to the price tag of the appliance itself. For a heat pump to work at its highest efficiency, the company noted that homeowners need to ensure their home is very well insulated and may also have to upgrade certain pipework and radiators.
In a bid to make sustainable heating technology accessible to more UK households, Alpha has called for hybrid systems to be included in the government scheme. A hybrid heating system pairs a traditional gas boiler with a heat pump, it added. Alpha stated that these two elements act in tandem with smart controls which work to combine live energy prices with the outdoor temperature.
Andrea Carmeli, managing director at Alpha, said: “The research we carried out here at Alpha shows that 53% of UK billpayers would likely take advantage of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme if hybrids were included.”
Alpha has suggested a grant amount of £2,500 for hybrid systems. Compared with the £7,500 available for a heat pump installation, Alpha said this means that the current funding could help three times the number of households venture into renewable heating.
Andrea added: “The crucial point here is that hybrids offer an 80-90% carbon reduction compared to a standalone gas boiler. So, in terms of overall environmental benefit, it makes sense to encourage more homes to take this transitionary step.
“The disappointing uptake figures of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme send a clear signal that it is failing in its current form to provide a sufficient incentive for enough homes to make this vital move to renewable heating technology. By helping a greater number of British homeowners adopt a hybrid system, we can truly accelerate the UK’s journey to more sustainable home heating.”