UK worst in Europe for sales of low-carbon home heat pumps

Britain’s homes account for around a fifth of the country’s total CO2 emissions, reports Daisy Dunne

A report from Westminster’s spending watchdog also found that the government had ‘rushed’ a scheme to help people improve the energy efficiency of their homes (AFP via Getty)

The UK ranks bottom in Europe for sales of home heat pumps – low-carbon alternatives to gas boilers, according to campaigners.

An analysis of 21 European countries found that the UK came joint last for sales of heat pumps last year, with just 1.3 heat pumps sold per 1,000 households.

Norway, the top-ranking country, sold 42 heat pumps per 1,000 households, according to the analysis by Greenpeace and the European Heat Pump Association.

The UK also came second-to-last for heat pump installations, falling behind countries including Slovakia, Poland, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Britain’s homes currently account for around a fifth of the country’s total CO2 emissions and the government is due to set out its long-awaited strategy for how it will tackle pollution from homes.

“The UK already has the draughtiest homes in western Europe, now we’re last when it comes to clean heating too,” said Dr Doug Parr, policy director at Greenpeace UK.

“If the government wants a chance to catch up, it needs a proper strategy and enough cash to clean up our homes on a massive scale.

“This means substantial grants for heat pump installations, especially for the poorest families, removing VAT on green home technologies and a phase-out of gas boilers early next decade.”

Electric heat pumps work by absorbing warmth from an outside source such as air, ground or nearby water before transferring it into the home. They require just a third of the power used by electric heaters and use far less energy than oil and gas heating.

The UK’s independent climate advisers say that the UK will need to rapidly scale up its deployment of heat pumps in buildings over the next decade if we are to meet the legal target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The findings come just days after a report from Westminster’s spending watchdog found that the government had “rushed” a scheme to help people improve the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce carbon emissions, leading to disappointing results.

The UK’s green homes grant scheme, which ran from September 2020 to March 2021, offered homeowners up to £5,000 to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

However, government failures in delivering the scheme mean it will help just eight per cent of the 600,000 homes it pledged to reach, according to a report from the National Audit Office.

The Independent approached a government spokesperson for comment.