Most Britons have NO interest in heat pumps, survey shows
- Most Britons have no interest in heat pumps, according to an exclusive survey
- But around half say they want to see hydrogen power introduced to UK homes
The UK may be running out of interest in heat pumps, with just one in ten people wanting to get one installed in place of their gas boiler.
Instead, around half want to use greener hydrogen power to replace part of their existing gas supply, according to a new survey.
Heat pumps use electricity to remove energy from the environment, and come in air, water or ground heat varieties. The Government wants to see 600,000 a year fitted from 2028 - an elevenfold increase from just 55,000 in 2023.
But only one in 10 homes has a heat pump or is planning to get one, according to the YouGov survey commissioned by the Energy and Utilities Alliance trade body.
![Off the boil: Most households do not want a heat pump under any circumstances, according to new research - but that doesn't mean they don't support Government green initiatives](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/16/84805375-13412845-image-a-17_1715615121374.jpg)
Off the boil: Most households do not want a heat pump under any circumstances, according to new research - but that doesn't mean they don't support Government green initiatives
There are currently 200,000 heat pumps in the UK in total, meaning around 0.74 per cent of the country's 27 million homes has one fitted.
If the YouGov survey accurately reflects wider public sentiment, only 2.7 million homes will get a heat pump before demand tails off, with most of the remaining 24.3 million relying on gas boilers for heating and hot water.
The Government is promoting heat pumps as part of its net zero drive to help lower the UK's carbon emissions.
The YouGov survey found that 69 per cent of people think it is important to reach net zero by 2050, but that 45 per cent are not even considering switching their gas boiler to a heat pump.
A remarkable 69 per cent of people believe it is important the UK reaches its goal of achieving net zero by 2050, but only ten per cent of those surveyed said they either have a heat pump or want to get one. In fact, 45 per cent of people said they have not even considered switching to a heat pump.
However, more than half (51 per cent) of people said they would support blending natural gas with hydrogen to cut carbon emissions from home heating.
This would enable homes to keep their gas boilers, with most needing no alterations.
Government and industry studies have shown that households can keep using gas appliances as normal so long as the hydrogen level does not exceed 20 per cent.
The Government was consulting on plans to start putting hydrogen into gas supplies from 2025, but has now delayed this until at least 2026.
Energy efficiency minister Martin Callanan said: 'Heat pumps and heat networks will be the main route to cutting household emissions for the foreseeable future.'
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of people said they want their current boilers to be converted for use with a zero-carbon gas in the future, such as hydrogen.
The high cost of installing heat pumps was criticised by the Government's spending watchdog earlier this year.
At the moment a heat pump costs four times more to fit than a like-for-like gas boiler.
The National Audit Office said that the high cost of heat pumps and a lack of consumer understanding were holding back more households choosing to fit heat pumps.
The watchdog said that 'a key issue behind lower-than-expected heat pump uptake is their cost to use and install' and that the Government has no 'long-term plan to address the low levels of awareness' about moving away from gas-powered heating.
The Government's main tool for encouraging households to pick heat pumps is its Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which offers grants of up to £7,500 to fit air and ground source heat pumps.
EUA chief executive Mike Foster said: 'Heat pumps have a role to play in decarbonising our homes, but the upfront and running costs make them a privilege for the well-off.
'What is crystal clear is the support for keeping boilers and decarbonising the gas used – with blending hydrogen into the network supported by a margin of five-to-one, leaving no doubt what the public want.
'Achieving net zero will require people to make fundamental changes to the way they live their lives and we have to present them with a choice in how best to do that.'
The YouGov polling was conducted among 2,035 adults.
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