National news coverage highlights the financial and practical challenges faced by off-grid residents over the government’s heat pump initiative.  

A recent BBC News article by Tim Dodd (19 October 2023) outlines the impractical and costly transition to electrified heating for older properties.  

The coverage resonates with Liquid Gas UK‘s long-standing position on the need for a mixed technology approach to decarbonise off-grid properties, underscoring the need for a range of practical heating solutions to reach rural net zero. 

Liquid Gas UK is keen to add renewable liquid gases (RLGs) to the debate.  

RLGs, which were recently recognised in the government’s Biomass Strategy, are readily available as a low carbon, drop-in solution for off-grid homeowners to decarbonise when heat pumps are not viable. 

The LPG industry is committed to being 100% renewable by 2040, with £600m forecast investment over the next two years for the domestic production and rapid deployment of RLGs. 

Liquid Gas UK architype research supports findings in the article which state that heat pump installation, including essential retrofitting for older hard-to-treat, hard-to-heat off-grid homes, can cost over £30,000. 

Our rural polling data revealed 69% of off-grid households are unable to afford such costs. 

Commentary from homeowners within the article spells out the realities around the expense of switching, despite recent policy changes to increase financial support for heat pumps via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. 

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero still appears committed to the installation of 600,000 heat pumps per year target by 2028, despite Heat Pump Association CEO, Charlotte Lee, saying the increased Boiler Upgrade Scheme budget isn’t enough to fulfil this ambition. 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s recent off-grid boiler ban delay until 2035 is welcome, but questions remain, for example: what government criteria deems certain properties to be exempt for heat pumps?

Read the BBC News article in full here.