Recommendation 12

Households can face a range of decisions when looking to install a heat pump. One such decision is whether to improve insulation to reduce energy usage and emissions. At the time of our evidence session, households were required to meet recommendations relating to cavity wall and loft insultation, identified in the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), in order to qualify for a grant as part of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. DESNZ told us that it would be removing this requirement in May 2024, which duly happened on 8 May. It told us that this was to address the issue of people being put off from applying to the Scheme by having to make improvements to their insulation and having to sequence the work, and to make the customer journey as simple as possible.24 We received written evidence from Octopus Energy, which explained that it welcomed the removal of the requirement for outstanding cavity wall and loft insulations in the EPC. It urged DESNZ to simplify the process further and remove the requirement for an EPC, which it told us were not required before installing gas boilers and added extra costs and delays to customers looking to replace their boiler with a heat pump.25