Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households have applied for a free heat pump as part of the Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project; and how many of those heat pumps have been installed to date.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
As part of the Department’s £505 million Energy Innovation Programme, the £14.6 million Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project will showcase the feasibility of installing heat pumps in a range of homes across the UK.
The Project has attracted over 4,500 expressions of interest since the three regional delivery partners were announced in Summer 2020. Installations have only recently begun – following delays caused by coronavirus – but as of Thursday 19 November 2020, 19 installations had been completed.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the biggest factor has been in households not installing a heat pump under the Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
As part of the Department’s £505 million Energy Innovation Programme, the £14.6 million Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project will showcase the feasibility of installing heat pumps in a range of homes across the UK. Installations have only recently begun – following delays caused by coronavirus – so it is too early to draw definitive conclusions.
As part of the project we will assess the reasons given by households for not progressing from survey to installation. We are also exploring where innovation can overcome any challenges through the Demonstration Project.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the estimated cost is of the energy efficiency retrofit requirements for households wishing to install a heat pump under the Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
As part of the Department’s £505 million Energy Innovation Programme, the £14.6 million Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project will showcase the feasibility of installing heat pumps in a range of homes across the UK. Installations have only recently begun – following delays caused by coronavirus – so it is too early to provide robust evidence on the cost of the energy efficiency retrofit requirements for households participating in the Project.
Under the Project, if any building upgrade measures are required then they are capped at £5,000 per property, except in exceptional circumstances, and this has not been a major impediment to homes participating in the Project to date. However, it is acknowledged that some homes with high heat demand and poor insulation, may require significant investment in energy efficiency measures to make them suitable for a heat pump. We are exploring where innovation can overcome this challenge through the Demonstration Project.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many heat pumps have been installed in off gas grid homes under the Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
As part of the Department’s £505 million Energy Innovation Programme, the £14.6 million Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project will showcase the feasibility of installing heat pumps in a range of homes across the UK, but will focus largely on homes connected to the gas network.
The Project has a target that at least 85 per cent of heat pumps installed under this project will be in homes that currently use gas as their primary heating fuel. Installations have only recently begun – following delays caused by coronavirus – but as of Thursday 19 November 2020, 19 installations had been completed, all of which were in homes that previously used gas as their primary heating fuel.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of types of homes least suitable to having a heat pump installed as part of the Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
As part of the Department’s £505 million Energy Innovation Programme, the Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project will showcase the feasibility of installing heat pumps in a range of homes across the UK. Installations have only recently begun – following delays caused by coronavirus – so it is too early to draw definitive conclusions, however, early evidence indicates that a large proportion of homes are suitable for heat pumps.
We acknowledge that some housing archetypes may pose specific challenges to the deployment of heat pumps. For example, some terraced houses and flats may have limited space for an air-source heat pump outdoor unit. While homes with high heat demand and poor insulation, may require significant investment in energy efficiency measures to make them suitable. We are exploring where innovation can overcome some of these challenges through the Demonstration Project.