Government urged to pivot net zero spending to support homes adapting to extreme heat

The government is being urged to improve support for households looking to adapt to the UK’s changing climate.

The call comes as BBC reports suggest further heatwaves are likely in the UK in the coming weeks. This follows a record-breaking June, in which temperatures in England were the hottest on record.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has long-focussed on driving down carbon emissions through electric heating, which for most households, means switching to a heat pump. However, trade association OFTEC argues that, alongside delivering on our long-term net zero goals, policies must also help homes adapt to the changing weather we are already experiencing.

OFTEC is urging the government to adapt its approach to deliver best consumer outcomes, tackling both the need to reduce carbon emissions from heating, and the need for summer cooling and fabric improvements, simultaneously.

The government-funded Boiler Upgrade Scheme, currently provides grants of £7,500 for households switching to an air to water heat pumps. The subsidy increases to £9000 for householders switching from oil and LPG, However, many households still find themselves plugging a significant cost gap, which makes it a costly programme for both government and consumer.

Equally, it fails to address the fundamental challenge of UK housing stock which is not equipped for the extreme heat we are now experiencing. Many properties are relatively poor at retaining heat during cold weather and are equally unable to keep the interior cool when outside temperatures rise. As a result, they quickly become uncomfortable during heatwaves, and potentially dangerously hot for older people or those with medical conditions.

OFTEC argues the current policy focus is draining both government and household budgets, resulting in a lack of funding for other home improvement measures.

Funding pivot

The trade association argues there is a particular opportunity off the gas grid to address both carbon emissions and heat management. By supporting the transition of oil heated homes onto renewable liquid fuels like Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), households can cut their carbon emissions without the high upfront cost of converting to a full heat pump system, and without the need for a government grant.

The freed up funding could be redirected to adapt properties for extreme heat, using measures such as insulation and efficient air cooling systems to regulate the temperature.

Malcolm Farrow, director of marketing and external affairs at OFTEC, commented: “The government is rightly focussed on driving down carbon emissions, but is missing the opportunity to support investment in home improvements to help people cope with the summer heatwaves we are seeing. There’s no point having low carbon homes if they’re too hot for people to actually live in.

“Limited grant funding for air to air heat pump systems, which work by circulating warm or cool air and can provide both heating and cooling, is already available, but currently only where it’s the sole heating system in the home. This effectively limits the support to owners of flats, and similar small homes.

“We need to invest in adaptability as well as decarbonisation and a huge number of homes will potentially need summer cooling. A more pragmatic approach could be to extend grant-funding for these systems, including for homes with existing heating systems, which isn’t currently the case.

“Off the gas grid, switching the UK’s 1.7 million oil heated homes to renewable liquid fuels would immediately cut emissions, and free up additional funding which could be diverted to help make these properties better equipped for the extreme summer temperatures we’re seeing.

“The air to air heat pump system would keep the most critically important rooms cooler in summer and could provide useful supplementary or background low carbon heating in winter too.

“It’s the kind of win-win that I’m sure many households would welcome.”

_{Image supplied by OFTEC}