Tag: Housing

Defective Heat Pumps Will Be Fitted in New Homes Under Net Zero Plans

The prospects for the Government’s plans to impose the installation of heat pumps at a rate of 600,000 per annum and then a million by the mid-2030s are looking gloomier by the day. According to the Telegraph, while heat pumps being fitted on a one-by-one basis to homes where a Government grant has been secured have to be installed by a certified installer, that’s not the case for heat pumps being installed in new builds

From The Daily Sceptic

By Sallust

The prospects for the Government’s plans to impose the installation of heat pumps at a rate of 600,000 per annum and then a million by the mid-2030s are looking gloomier by the day. According to the Telegraph, while heat pumps being fitted on a one-by-one basis to homes where a Government grant has been secured have to be installed by a certified installer, that’s not the case for heat pumps being installed in new builds. Anyone with the gift of the gab, pipe-cutters, a drill and a socket set can do the job:

Defective heat pumps will be fitted in new homes under Net Zero plans, the Government has been warned.

From 2027, new homes will be fitted with a heat pump as standard under rules that are expected to be introduced within weeks.

But while heat pumps installed under Government grant schemes in existing homes must be fitted by accredited technicians, there are no such standards for new homes.

Households have been warned that, as a result, “rogue traders” may be fitting their heat pumps, potentially leading to a mis-selling scandal.

Owners of new builds fitted with heat pumps have already reported issues linked to poor installations that have left their homes cold and expensive to run.

If the Government is to meet its house-building targets, heat pump installations will more than quadruple between new build and existing homes by 2027.

“Most people who install low-carbon technologies see genuine benefits and would recommend them to family and friends, but public trust is being eroded by the actions of some rogue traders and shoddy installations,” said Andy Manning, the Head of Energy Policy at Citizens Advice.

“Installers of green upgrades like solar panels and heat pumps don’t have to be accredited unless they’re carrying out work that’s funded by Government grants.”

It is not known exactly how many heat pumps were installed in new builds last year, but 98,000 were sold across the country – the vast majority for existing properties.

But industry experts have said there is a dearth of well-trained installers even at current levels, and ramping up installations without better regulation and training is likely to lead to poorly-installed technology.

John Hornby bought a newly built five-bedroom home in a Shropshire hamlet in 2021, fitted with an air source heat pump that failed to keep the house warm and left him paying £500 a month on electricity during the winter.

An independent assessor commissioned by Mr Hornby found that both the heat pump and the radiators were too small for the house, a common complaint among owners.

Two smaller homes on the estate had been fitted with the same size heat pump, despite bigger homes requiring larger technology, suggesting a lack of understanding by the installers. An inspection of the insulation in the home’s bathroom also found gaps, meaning heat was escaping.

It seems the way is open to a legacy of problems with poorly installed, badly configured and inappropriately sized heat pumps being foisted on those who buy new builds in the years to come. Some of course will be properly installed, but how is any homebuyer supposed to be able to discriminate?

Worth reading in full.

Despite this almost incomprehensible level of Government negligence don’t get excited about the prospect of either Net Zero or Ed Miliband being put out to grass. Tim Stanley thinks the Secretary of State for Energy’s job is secure:

Rumour has it, his head’s on the block. Rachel Reeves, having killed the private sector with her first budget, is now all about cuts and growth – and Net Zero is perceived to be a costly jobs killer.

But I think he’s safe. A poll of Labour members found he’s the most popular minister. Why? Because he’s the only one doing something they like. Telegraph readers might regard the Government as far-Left but remove Net Zero and its policies are to cut foreign aid, cut benefits and raise defence spending, making it seem far-Right to the grassroots.

Miliband helps maintain a pretence that Labour is different-ish from the Tories, thanks to videos of him touring wind farms with Blue Peter energy. His sticky-backed plastic, Groovy Gang, ‘cool kids pick up litter’ vibe is enhanced by a cosmic self-assurance that borders on the guru.

That’s despite an interview on Radio 4 last week suggested that Mr Miliband’s aspirations and dreams diverge widely from reality.

Tim Stanley’s column is worth reading in full too.

Gas Boilers Banned in New Homes From 2027

Gas boilers are to be banned in most new homes by 2027 as part of legislation being brought forward by the Government.

From The Daily Sceptic

By Will Jones

Gas boilers are to be banned in most new homes by 2027 as part of legislation being brought forward by the Government. The Telegraph has the story.

Under the so-called Future Homes Standard, which aims to slash carbon emissions across households, developers must ensure that new-builds are only fitted out with electric heat pumps or non-gas alternatives.

Rules regarding the gas boiler ban are expected to be announced as early as May next year, although they are unlikely to be enforced until the relevant legislation takes effect in 2026.

That would be followed by a 12-month delay to ensure housebuilders are prepared for the switchover, as first reported by the Financial Times.

The proposed ban comes after the previous Tory Government launched a consultation on the Future Homes Standard policy last year.

The new legislation aims to reduce carbon emissions across all new homes by up to 80%.

However, the decision to outlaw gas boilers has raised concerns over whether the heat pump supply chain can grow quickly enough to match Sir Keir Starmer’s bid to build 300,000 new homes a year.

Worth reading in full.

Currently only about 35,000 heat pumps are installed each year. Boosting that to 300,000 a year, nearly 10 times more, in three years seems like a stretch. The bigger problem of course is that people don’t like heat pumps because they don’t heat the house or water very well and, with electricity prices high, are not cheap to run.