Replace Britain’s rural boilers to offset energy efficiency funding cuts, urges UKLPG

In light of the announcement that the Government is set to make substantial cuts to household energy efficiency funding, LP Gas trade association, UKLPG, has urged ministers to pursue a programme of replacing inefficient boilers. 

Earlier this year saw the end of support for the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund, which incentivised householders to install a range of home energy efficiency measures.

There are also a raft of new measures designed to curb the Government’s subsidy spending, including the immediate removal of subsidies for biomass conversions and a consultation proposing a change in the rules around access to the Feed-In-Tariff scheme.

The effects of potential funding cuts are most likely to be felt in UK households in rural areas, which do not have access to the mains grid.

This equates to approximately two million homes, or 4.6 million people, according to parliamentary data.

Rob Shuttleworth, chief executive of UKLPG, said: “The variable quality and age of the UK’s rural housing stock has left many rural homes in need of an upgrade to ensure their heating and hot water requirements are met. There is certainly more that the Government can do to help off-grid residents achieve greater household energy efficiency.

“According to the Heating and Hot Water Council, approximately 80,000 oil and gas boilers are replaced in rural Britain each year. We are urging the Government to expand this on a wider scale and to support a rural boiler replacement programme to improve household energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions across off-grid Britain.

“Such a measure would certainly ease the burden for off-grid residents. As we wait to see the impact of the spending review, UKLPG believes this will provide a clearer pathway to help householders to achieve both carbon emissions cuts and greater home heating efficiency.”