UK: Boiler Upgrade Scheme drives 52% rise in heat pump...

Recent figures published by UK department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) on 6  March 2025 ^[1] revealed a 52% increase in installations compared to 2023, with experts crediting the rise to the government’s decision to raise the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant to GBP7,500.

What is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme?

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) supports the decarbonisation of homes and small and medium non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. The scheme provides upfront capital grants of up to GBP7,500 to encourage property owners to replace existing fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low carbon heating systems including heat pumps and biomass boilers ^[2].

Heat pumps, which run on electricity rather than gas, are a key part of the UK’s plan to cut carbon emissions from home heating, which accounts for 14% of the country’s total emissions. However, the heat pump industry warns that high electricity costs remain a major barrier to widespread adoption.

Despite the progress, heat pump sales —both subsidised and unsubsidised— remained under 100,000 last year, far below the government’s target of 600,000 annual installations by 2028. Industry leaders and climate advisors argue that electricity prices must drop for heat pumps to become a mainstream choice. They urge policymakers to shift levies from electricity to gas bills, making heat pumps a more attractive financial option. Meanwhile, upcoming planning reforms requiring new homes to include heat pumps are expected to drive further market growth.

Did you know? The IIR recently published a Technical Brief about domestic heat pumps using hydrocarbons. See in FRIDOC.

Sources

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/heat-pump-deployment-statistics

[2] https://www.find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/boiler-upgrade-scheme-1
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3e4nlxlq08o

UK: Boiler Upgrade Scheme drives 52% rise in heat pump installations