Following the letter to Lord Callanan regarding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) following a Lords inquiry, Dr Matthew Trewhella, CEO of The Kensa Group, has spoken out.
He said: “We are calling on the government to reconsider the subsidies that are currently offered by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which is currently failing to incentivise ground source heat pumps fairly.
“As Baroness Parminter correctly advises: ‘Ground source heat pumps can deliver greater energy efficiency and so should also be adequately incentivised’. We propose that grant levels should be related to carbon savings as ground source heat pumps are the most energy efficient heating and cooling technology. They should also be reflective of the impact on the grid and the longevity of the infrastructure – both of which are more beneficial with ground source technology.
“Heating is responsible for a third of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, 24m homes in the UK are heated by gas boilers, and this number is still rising. With under 27 years to remove gas boilers in line with net zero targets, new gas heating systems need to stop being installed now and be replaced with low-carbon heating alternatives at the rate of 1m per year.
“Heat pumps offer far greater efficiencies than gas boilers, meaning you get more heat for the energy used. Gas boilers use around 1.2 units of energy, often imported, for every unit of heat they produce. Whereas Ground Source Heat Pumps can produce 4 units of heat for each unit of electricity used and produce no carbon emissions if combined with a renewable electricity source.
“The decarbonisation of heating should be a key priority and right now we need bigger-picture thinking to speed up the transition. A Networked Heat Pump solution provides a tangible pathway for a widescale and rapid transition away from gas to renewable energy for all buildings including; commercial, private homes and tower blocks. This solution is available right now as demonstrated by our current projects with Thurrock Council and Northumberland Council, and Heat The Streets; a pioneering scheme offering high value, low-carbon ground source heat pump technology to households of any tenure, street-by-street, with the ground array infrastructure in the street, mimicking the gas grid.”