Recommendations & Conclusions
5 items
14
Recommendation
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Accepted in Part
While some organisations advocated a ‘fabric first’ approach, which involves improving the thermal performance of materials in a building prior to installing a heat pump, others suggested that it is not necessary, making it difficult for households to determine cost- effective measures. In their written evidence to us, the Energy …
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While some organisations advocated a ‘fabric first’ approach, which involves improving the thermal performance of materials in a building prior to installing a heat pump, others suggested that it is not necessary, making it difficult for households to determine cost- effective measures. In their written evidence to us, the Energy & Utilities Alliance and National Energy Action both suggested, for example, that a fabric first approach would reduce bills and cut energy consumption, while the Kensa Group highlighted that loft and cavity wall insulation reduced heat-related energy consumption by only around 10%.27 DESNZ told us that it planned to assess the effect of changes it has made to insulation requirements on people’s experience through its planned evaluation of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.28 23 DHH0053, Written evidence submitted by Centrica, 29 April 2024 24 Qq 3–4, 6–7 25 DHH0050 26 Qq 4–7, 13 27 DHH0040, Written evidence submitted by Energy & Utilities Alliance, 29 April 2024; DHH0020, Written evidence submitted by National Energy Action, 29 April 2024; DHH0016, Written evidence submitted by The Kensa Group, 29 April 2024 28 Qq 39–42 Decarbonising home heating 13
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Government response AI summary
Government agrees with the recommendation and is making specific improvements to its Heat Pump Home Suitability tool, including advice on insulation and energy efficiency measures, to help households determine cost-effective options.
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HM Treasury
16
Recommendation
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Accepted in Part
In response to our question about how DESNZ ensured customers had access to proper information to make decisions about investment and running costs, the Department explained that it provided information through its online tools on heat pump suitability and retrofit options to make homes cheaper to heat, and a phone …
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In response to our question about how DESNZ ensured customers had access to proper information to make decisions about investment and running costs, the Department explained that it provided information through its online tools on heat pump suitability and retrofit options to make homes cheaper to heat, and a phone line service providing households in England with advice about how to improve the energy performance of their homes. Research published by Energy Saving Trust in December 2023, and the written evidence it submitted to us, however, highlighted a lack of impartial, personalised support as a major barrier to decarbonising homes, with almost half (48%) of homeowners in England unsure where to get independent, impartial advice on making improvements to reduce their homes’ emissions. It told us that the current process for households looking to decarbonise their homes was “complex and confusing”, which left people unsure where to find trusted information about what measures are suitable for their property. It also cautioned that financial support alone will be insufficient to increase uptake of low-carbon heating if not accompanied by impartial, tailored advice services that guide consumers through the process.30
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Government response AI summary
Government agrees with the recommendation and is making specific improvements to its Heat Pump Home Suitability tool to provide better information, while also stating broader improvements will be set out in the Warm Homes Plan.
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HM Treasury
20
Recommendation
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Accepted in Part
We heard from DESNZ that a key challenge will be to retrain around 110,000 existing gas heating engineers to install heat pumps. Centrica, an energy company and low carbon heating installer, agreed that it was “vital” to focus on retraining as many engineers as possible to ensure that there are …
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We heard from DESNZ that a key challenge will be to retrain around 110,000 existing gas heating engineers to install heat pumps. Centrica, an energy company and low carbon heating installer, agreed that it was “vital” to focus on retraining as many engineers as possible to ensure that there are enough engineers to support homes to install low carbon technologies. DESNZ considered that this could be done quickly through an existing skilled workforce.35 The Heat Pump Association and Heat Pump Federation, which represent manufacturers of heat pumps, however, called for more to be done to incentivise the upskilling of the existing heating engineer workforce.36 In its written evidence to us, Schneider Electric said that there were “inadequate” incentives for upskilling and training. It explained that the complexity of heat pump installations compared to traditional boilers and the current insufficient £500 training grant to cover lost income from four days of training discouraged installers from upskilling.37 Monitoring and evaluating progress
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Government response AI summary
Government agrees with the recommendation and highlights existing training grants, updated apprenticeships, and the establishment of a new Office for Clean Energy Jobs, but defers decisions on future training incentives to the Spending Review 2025.
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HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Accepted in Part
DESNZ does not have a single measure of the number of heat pump installations. Instead, it relies on data from a range of sources, including the number of heat pump 32 Q 21; DHH0008; DHH0010, Written evidence submitted by The Retrofit Academy, 29 April 2024; DHH0027, Written evidence submitted by …
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DESNZ does not have a single measure of the number of heat pump installations. Instead, it relies on data from a range of sources, including the number of heat pump 32 Q 21; DHH0008; DHH0010, Written evidence submitted by The Retrofit Academy, 29 April 2024; DHH0027, Written evidence submitted by Schneider Electric, 29 April 2024; DHH0033; DHH0037, Written evidence submitted by MCS Service Company, 29 April 2024 33 Qq 21, 25–28; C&AG’s Report, para 3.15 34 DHH0014, Written evidence submitted by The MCS Foundation, 29 April 2024 35 Qq 24–25; DHH0053 36 DHH0008 37 DHH0027 Decarbonising home heating 15 grants provided through government schemes, Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) installations data and heat pump sales data. Data from the Heat Pump Association indicates that some 55,000 heat pumps were sold in 2022.38 We asked DESNZ why it did not have a mechanism to measure how many heat pumps had been installed. It explained that there were “challenges”, as no one was required to tell DESNZ whether they had installed a heat pump. It considered that requiring this information would be “overly regulatory”. It also told us that not everyone who installed a heat pump was certified by the MCS, so not all installations were captured in the MCS installations data. In addition, DESNZ explained that there were significant numbers of installations taking place in the devolved administrations, which were not included in its data, and that the number of heat pumps that are installed in new build homes would not always be captured either.39
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Government response AI summary
The government commits to publishing quarterly data for retrofit installations using government funding. However, for new build and non-government funded installations, it is only investigating mechanisms to collect data and cannot yet commit to doing so.
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HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
Thirty-Seventh Report - Decarbonising h…
Accepted in Part
DESNZ told us that it was looking to produce a more regular data series that it could publish by combining some of its data sources. It was also developing a dashboard that will show the number of heat pumps installed through each government scheme. The NAO found that regular monitoring …
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DESNZ told us that it was looking to produce a more regular data series that it could publish by combining some of its data sources. It was also developing a dashboard that will show the number of heat pumps installed through each government scheme. The NAO found that regular monitoring of progress would help DESNZ better understand whether it was on track to deliver an elevenfold increase in heat pump installations to reach its target of 600,000 installations by 2028. It found that it would also help to determine where further intervention may be required from government or industry.40
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees to publish quarterly data for retrofit installations funded by the government by Winter 2024. However, it is still investigating methods to collect and publish data for new build and non-government funded installations, unable to commit until a suitable mechanism is found.
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HM Treasury