Recommendation 13

We asked DESNZ why it had decided to change the minimum insulation standards required for heat pumps, and what impact it expected this decision to have. DESNZ told us that government had decided to leave insulation improvements as a choice for householders. It explained that it was still recommending that they make such upgrades in response to their EPC, but that it was leaving it to householders to choose when, or if, to undertake this work. We therefore asked DESNZ about the evidence it had used to reach this decision. DESNZ told us that it made its decision based on evidence that showed that 80% to 90% of UK homes do not need additional insulation for a heat pump to work effectively. DESNZ accepted, however, that it still needed to do some myth-busting about the quality of the consumer experience when living with a heat pump.26