DESNZ has announced that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has been expanded to include air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries.

Amid reports that subsidies for heat pumps might be cut, the current grant of £7,500 off the cost of installing an air source or ground source heat pump has been expanded to offer a £2,500 discount off the cost of installing an air-to-air heat pump, providing heat in winter and cooling in summer.

This is the first time air-conditioning units have been eligible for government funding, and forms part of the £13.2bn Warm Homes Plan.

Charlotte Lee, chief executive of the Heat Pump Association said: “Broadening the range of supported technologies is an important step in offering consumers more choice. To maintain this success, an ambitious budget allocation under the Warm Homes Plan will be key to ensuring that the scheme continues to deliver for households and industry, supporting jobs and long-term investment.”

The Government is also launching a consultation to explore alternative clean heating solutions that may play a role in some homes, such as infrared heating, solid biomass boilers using agricultural waste, and renewable liquid fuels, and to explore the role of innovative, clean heating technologies in homes.

Jess Ralston, energy analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said: “The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has seen around 100,000 applications already and expanding it to more net-zero technologies means more choice for consumers that want to make upgrades. It also implies that the Government is backing its existing policies instead of cutting them in the upcoming Budget, as has been rumoured, which would create uncertainty in the industry and the jobs that rely on it, as well as damaging investment by sending mixed signals."

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