Report shows “huge gap between the UK's home decarbonisation and the rest of Europe” warns Heatio

The Committee has set out what it says is a deliverable and cost-effective route to the greenhouse gas emissions cuts required from 2038 to 2042 to ensure the UK meets the legally-binding goal to cut climate pollution to zero overall – known as net zero – by 2050.

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Around a third of the emissions cuts in the period will have to come from action by households, mainly buying an electric car and a heat pump to replace an old gas boiler. The Committee calculates that by mid-century, households would save around £700 a year on heating bills and another £700 on motoring costs, with a switch to electric heat pumps for home heating and electric vehicles (EVs).

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Thomas Farquhar, Chief Commercial Officer of Heatio, has welcomed the report, which demonstrated the benefits and impact that switching to low-carbon technology can have on climate goals and household pockets, but warns of complacency.

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Thomas said: “The Climate Committee’s latest ‘carbon budget’ has highlighted the huge gap between the UK's home decarbonisation and the rest of Europe. We are being left behind by European countries who are improving energy security for consumers whilst decarbonising, whilst the UK remains dangerously reliant on fossil fuel imports. This was highlighted yesterday when yet another increase in the energy price cap was announced, with consumers being hit again by further energy cost increases right in the middle of a cost of living crisis.  

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"We have had decades of misinformation across low carbon technologies like Heat Pumps and EVs and while countries like Norway have already switched 66% of their homes to a Heat Pump, we are still fitting 1.7m of our homes every year with a boiler. Our Energy Security has never been worse and energy prices for consumers keep on rising. We have to stop treating NetZero like a political football, that can be kicked down the road for someone else to deal with. It's not just about protecting the planet, it's now about more homes than ever being in fuel poverty, people unable to afford their own heating and energy prices only going one way. We must do more to help more people transition to low-carbon technology if we are to make any difference in people’s lives.”

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Heatio has recently launched a new solution for people in the North West of England, which aims to overcome the need for customers to pay upfront for new heating systems, making the switch to a heat pump and solar more accessible.

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It provides a free energy score for people’s homes, with bespoke recommendations for low-carbon technologies, such as solar panels, heat pumps and EV chargers, which can help people save money on their bills.

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The team uses advanced digital twin technology and real-time energy data to simulate how the customer’s home performs throughout the year and show the true impact the low-carbon technology could have on customers’ energy costs and the potential savings they can make.  

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Homeowners can then choose flexible payment options for the recommended solar technology, including affordable monthly payment plans with Hometree Finance or paying in full upfront, making renewable energy accessible for more people - enabling them to self-generate their own energy and potentially save money straight away.

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Access to government grants, such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, to cover the cost of other recommended low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps and hot water storage systems will also be arranged by Heatio to ensure a complete energy-saving package at zero to low cost.

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Heatio will manage the installation process with local approved traders to minimise disruption and make the switch to low-carbon technology seamless. Once installed, Heatio’s Energy Optimisation Platform will link, monitor and optimise the performance of the technology ensuring maximum cost and carbon savings, while enabling the customer to have full control of how and when they use energy.

Residents living in the North West can sign up for the service here. Heatio is planning a nationwide roll-out later this year.

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