The UK Government is set to ditch plans to ban new gas boilers from 2035 despite pushing for the vast majority of homes to get heat pumps in future.
A de facto ban on gas boilers being installed in new homes will be confirmed later this year, taking effect before the end of the decade.
But the previously planned rule that would stop people replacing their existing boilers with new ones from 2035 will be scrapped, The i Paper understands.
Ministers have confirmed that they expect most homes in the UK to adopt heat pumps at some point as part of plans to remove fossil fuels from the country’s heating systems.
Heat pumps, which are powered by electricity, are currently used by only 1% of households and cost more than gas boilers.
But the UK Government has promised to ramp up efforts to get homeowners to switch when their existing boilers need replacing, including by extending a £7,500 subsidy available to homeowners to buy a heat pump.
The Conservatives had promised a total ban on all new gas boilers from 2035. Rishi Sunak said when he was Prime Minister: “We’ll never force anyone to rip out their existing boiler and replace it with a heat pump. You’ll only ever have to make the switch when you’re replacing your boiler anyway, and even then, not until 2035.”
But speaking before the general election, Labour’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband suggested he would scrap that rule, saying: “We haven’t stuck with the Government’s 2035 target when you can’t replace your gas boiler. I know that we’ve got to show that heat pumps are affordable and are going to work for people.”
The Government is now set to formally ditch the rule. Later this year, ministers will set out a “warm homes plan” with new details of how the switch to low-carbon heating methods will work.
It includes a “future homes standard”, which places stringent rules on developers building new homes. While gas boilers are not expected to be banned outright in newly built properties, they will not meet the minimum standards for green energy efficiency that will be imposed.
Instead, all new homes will have to be heated with heat pumps or other forms of renewable-powered heating. But the rules will make it clear that no existing boilers need to be removed, as well as scrapping the 2035 mandate for an end to the sale of new boilers.
The UK Government declined to comment ahead of the publication of the warm homes plan and future homes standard.
Ministers argue that heat pumps can save families money, although some experts worry that they are still unaffordable for most with the average installation cost cited by British Gas of £5,690 even after the subsidy is applied.
The technology is also unsuitable for many older homes unless they undergo costly renovations, such as having insulation and underfloor heating installed.
A new boiler currently costs about £3,000.