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Forced to install heat pumps

175 replies

forcedtogetheatpumps · 08/09/2023 19:07

Yesterday, there was an article in the DM (yes, I know) about a Bill currently going through Parliament which basically says that home owners and LLs are going to be forced to install heat pumps otherwise they'll be fined or imprisoned.

How are people going to afford this?

OP posts:
LordEmsworth · 08/09/2023 19:10

No one is going to get sent to prison for not installing a heat pump, so you really don't need to worry about it...

Donki · 08/09/2023 19:20

It's the DM
Always take their info with a very large pinch of salt.

Halo8 · 08/09/2023 19:21

Not unless they start building more prisons.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

MasterCherry · 08/09/2023 19:24

And you believed this because...

forcedtogetheatpumps · 08/09/2023 19:27

I dunno what to believe. It's part of this 2050 net zero thing.

OP posts:
NCgoingdry · 08/09/2023 19:28

Oh my Christ do some research.

I work in this industry (demonise me for clean tech if you wish).

The ban on new boilers comes in effect in 2025. As the old boilers die (mine is 20 years old and going strong) - heat pumps will be used.

Government grants are in place to fund them. As well as payment plans.

No one is going to jail.

You're welcome.

MintJulia · 08/09/2023 19:28

They're going to need a HUGE prison building program then 😄 And they are struggling to staff the gaols they already have.

I suspect what will really happen is that new gas boilers will become unavailable and when existing units wear out, homeowners will have to choose something else - storage heaters, underfloor electric heating, heated wall paper or air/ground source heat pumps.

megletthesecond · 08/09/2023 19:31

At least we can keep warm when we're all in prison together.

WowIlikereallyhateyou · 08/09/2023 19:34

And that is assuming you have a house with cavity walls that is not old. Heat pumps dont work properly in anything other, and due to the fact that most of our housing stock is older then there are going* to have to be alternatives. I wouldn’t worry.

Bookish88 · 08/09/2023 19:37

NCgoingdry · 08/09/2023 19:28

Oh my Christ do some research.

I work in this industry (demonise me for clean tech if you wish).

The ban on new boilers comes in effect in 2025. As the old boilers die (mine is 20 years old and going strong) - heat pumps will be used.

Government grants are in place to fund them. As well as payment plans.

No one is going to jail.

You're welcome.

Government grants will fall considerably short of funding them. And many households, payment plan or otherwise, will not be able to afford the difference. Nor are there anywhere near enough trained installers. Sounds like a great idea...

WowIlikereallyhateyou · 08/09/2023 19:40

Bookish, exactly, its not gonna happen for soooo many reasons £££££’s at the moment!

BocolateChiscuits · 08/09/2023 19:41

As others have said, we're not all going to jail.

At the moment, the plan is that new builds won't be able to be built with gas boilers starting from 2025.

And even if you end up with a heat pump one day, I promise you, it's hardly a terrible fate. I have one (in my ordinary 1930s home). You turn on a shower and the water is warm, you turn on the heating and the radiators are toasty. A guest wouldn't know the difference.

User16328715 · 08/09/2023 19:43

Blimey they can't even keep tabs on the ones that are in prison.

WowIlikereallyhateyou · 08/09/2023 19:47

User16328715 · 08/09/2023 19:43

Blimey they can't even keep tabs on the ones that are in prison.

Love it 😂🤣😂

Fallenangelofthenorth · 08/09/2023 19:49

I've not read that particular article but it's the EPC legislation that worries me more. I live in an old house and have done everything I can afford to do, including install solar panels, but it's still only an EPC C (from F or G - can't quite remember). I do worry that my home will become unmortgageble within the next 10 years or so.

PastTheGin · 08/09/2023 19:52

Do not read the DM, they “report” absolute bollocks. 🙄

doitwithlove · 08/09/2023 19:57

Haha, we can keep each other company on the MN wing. 🤪🫣😂💃

VeloVixen · 08/09/2023 19:58

I wonder how many shares Sunak has in heat pump companies?

User16328715 · 08/09/2023 20:01

All the poor children left behind when the parents are banged up for not buying a heat pump. Maybe they will get some more barges in for this.

AlisonDonut · 08/09/2023 20:03

I'm a UK landlord living in France. If it comes to it and we can't rent our house out with the agency, we will just leave it empty.

There is no way we'd be able to install a heat pump anyway, it's in a conservation area. We can't even get double glazing installed, it still have the original Victorian hand blown glass in the windows.

Exasperatednow · 08/09/2023 20:03

It says 'under consideration. That's a LONG way off happening..

And OP the DM is not a credible source. It's akin to reading a comic.

Busy77 · 08/09/2023 20:05

Will we not be able to buy gas boilers after 2025? How will that work - the boiler breaks and then how long does it take to get the house reconfigured for a heat pump? Maybe it's worth changing a 10 year old boiler next year to buy more time?

RustyBear · 08/09/2023 20:06

VeloVixen · 08/09/2023 19:55

According to the proposals: “Energy smart regulations may create offences relating to the obstruction of persons acting on behalf of enforcement authorities.” Not quite the same as going to prison for not installing a heat pump.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 08/09/2023 20:06

AlisonDonut · 08/09/2023 20:03

I'm a UK landlord living in France. If it comes to it and we can't rent our house out with the agency, we will just leave it empty.

There is no way we'd be able to install a heat pump anyway, it's in a conservation area. We can't even get double glazing installed, it still have the original Victorian hand blown glass in the windows.

Can't even get the management company to decorate the hall, we have zero chance of getting a heat pump, even if we wanted one. I wonder how they're supposed to work for the 15 storey flats down the road from me, but I guess the govt assumes everyone lives in houses with large gardens.