Decarbonising home heating scrutinised by Public Accounts Committee
The Public Accounts Committee holds an evidence session on decarbonising home heating with senior officials from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) at 1.30pm on Wednesday 24 April.
Meeting details
In March 2024, the National Audit Office’s (NAO) report on progress in decarbonising home heating found that trials of hydrogen schemes intended to support government decision-making are either delayed or cancelled. It also found that the Government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme has achieved a lower than expected uptake, with expectations for the increase in heat pump installations by 2028 based on optimistic assumptions.
The Committee’s reports on the Renewable Heat Incentive (2018) and the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme (2021) found that both schemes underperformed, provided poor value for money, and were also based on over-optimistic promises.
Based on the NAO report, the Committee will hear from DESNZ on how Government intends to deliver emission reductions in home heating, which will be key to meeting the overall target to achieve net zero by 2050.
Home heating made up 18% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. In October of the same year, the Government published its Heat and Buildings Strategy, which has the ambition to end the installation of new fossil fuel boilers by 2035. It also commits to growing the supply chain for heat pumps to a minimum market capacity of 600,000 installations per year by 2028 – an eleven-fold increase from 55,000 heat pump sales in 2022. Heat pumps and heat networks are envisaged by Government as the primary low-carbon technology for the decarbonisation of home heating over the next decade. It also set 2026 as the year by which evidence would be developed to inform decisions on the future role of hydrogen in home heating.