Responding to the Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee report, which has called for greater urgency in promoting heat pumps as the lower carbon alternative for home heating, E.ON UK CEO Michael Lewis said:

“I welcome today’s recommendations from the Lords Climate Change Committee, as I welcome any proposals that tackle this issue head-on and make the greener option the default option.

“Our plea to the Government has always been to push hard on energy efficiency at every opportunity. It makes people’s homes more comfortable, cuts energy use and energy costs, grows the economy with new green collar jobs, reduces our reliance on imported fossil fuels and contributes to net-zero on a sustainable basis.

“The task we have been set – a twenty-fold increase in heat pump installations to 600,000 a year by 2028 – is achievable but only with consistent Government action to help drive consumer demand.

“We need scale. That means stronger, simpler and more specific policies: greater guidance to homeowners, longer term access to grants, and new building regulations so all new properties are built to net zero standards.”

Michael Lewis added: “We’ve been a leading installer of heat pumps in homes across the UK for many years, and the first installer to become a Which? Trusted Trader. We’re convinced they’re critical to making homes more comfortable, more efficient and cheaper to heat. It’s crucial that we find alternative ways to heat our homes that rely less on fossil fuels, both for price and environmental reasons.

“The key to delivering heat pumps at scale is tapping into the mortgage market – improving homes when people are moving in and looking to renovate anyway. The UK mortgage market is worth £275bn a year in new mortgages and if you could tap in to just 3-5% of that every year, that's enough to do all of the upgrade work at roughly £12,000 per house, at a time when people are already dealing with disruption in their homes. You buy a house, you have an energy audit that identifies any improvements needed, and you can access the finance to be able to upgrade to zero carbon living and a more comfortable new home.”

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