Are you worried about the gas boiler ban? Here we uncover the latest news, timelines and facts about the potential legislation surrounding the gas boiler ban.
Are you concerned about the UK gas boiler ban? Lots are, and that's understandable.
In recent years the news media has regularly reported on the so-called "Gas Boiler Ban", but what is the actual truth? And should you be worried?
Are gas boilers actually being banned? The quick answer is no, at present the only proposed legislation is to ban gas boilers in new-build properties ONLY from the year 2025 onwards, but this is yet to be signed into law.
However, this guide will provide further details, outline current proposals, and estimate timelines as to when gas boilers are likely to be banned and how this may affect you.
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Gas Boiler Ban Key Points:
Gas & oil boilers will likely be banned in new build properties only - from 2025 onwards.
This does not include current housing stock - there is no plan to ban them from current homes.
However, the Government are attempting to encourage homes to swap to renewables like heat pumps via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).
The Heat and Buildings Strategy also states that it's aiming to phase out the installation of natural gas boilers beyond 2035.
Please be aware that this does not mean you will have to remove your boiler beyond this date, however, when it comes time to replace it, you will have to choose an alternative option.
Exact plans, including dates and timelines, are still a moving picture and the government continues to review the situation.
Why do we need a Gas Boiler Ban?
In response to this global climate emergency, in 2016, at the Accord on Climate Change in Paris, the UK government, together with the world’s largest economies agreed to tackle global warming by becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
As a result, traditional heating methods, which according to the Committee on Climate Change currently account for one-third of UK carbon emissions, are at the centre of the government's low carbon agenda and change is inevitable.
95% of UK homes are centrally heated and most of these households rely on gas or oil-fired boilers
The main issue with gas and oil boilers is that they emit carbon, a major greenhouse gas that is contributing to global warming.
These gases cannot escape the atmosphere and instead remain trapped, causing the earth’s temperature to rise.
Low carbon heating methods that emit zero or little carbon are an essential ingredient to achieving the targets; this includes technologies such as heat pumps, solar, biomass and the adoption of hydrogen boilers.
When are gas boilers being banned?
As mentioned, a gas boiler ban has only been proposed for new-build properties from the year 2025 onwards.
The proposal was first announced by the former chancellor Philip Hammond in 2019.
The latest government has also reaffirmed the policy proposal but it has not yet been signed into law.
The so-called 'gas boiler ban' is part of a larger piece of legislation named the "Future Homes Standard", a set of standards that will complement the Building Regulations to ensure new homes built from 2025 will produce 75-80% less carbon emissions than homes delivered under current regulations.
At present, the current government has launched a consultation on the proposals and updates/announcements are expected in the near future.
What does the proposed gas boiler ban of 2025 mean for you?
The proposed ban only impacts new build properties from 2025 onwards and as mentioned it is still just proposed and therefore not 100% going to happen.
Therefore, unless you are planning on buying or moving to a new build property after 2025 these proposed changes will not impact you and you will be able to use a gas or oil boiler.
For perspective, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government highlights that there are about 25 million homes in the UK – and around 160,000 new builds each year according to the National House-Building Council.
Due to the low numbers of new builds, many groups are actively campaigning for the UK government to do more and have raised concerns that simply targeting new builds is not enough.
As a result, the UK government are actively promoting and funding programs like the Gas Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help people make the transition to a low carbon heating alternative, like air source heat pumps.
Of course, it's always possible that the government could decide to ban all gas boilers, but this is extremely unlikely and as of yet no proposal for this has been announced.
What is the alternative to gas boilers?
The reality is that most UK homes use gas boilers for heating and the expense and viability of replacing all of them with solar and heat pumps is not considered achievable by many observers.
Hydrogen Boilers
Due to this, hydrogen-ready boilers are seen by some dreamers as a viable solution, since they can make use of the existing infrastructure, and engineers and their price point will likely remain competitive.
There remain several barriers to the adoption of low carbon heat and a recent report by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) found that it will take over 700 years for the UK to make the transition at its current speed.
Additionally, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has estimated that it would cost an average of £26,000 to switch each UK home to a low-carbon heating system.
One potential solution to these barriers is hydrogen fuel, which could take advantage of the current gas infrastructure, which is connected to 8 in 10 homes. Therefore, many industry commentators assert that it’s much more practical to change the fuel instead of the heating system in every home.
What about Heat Pumps?
There have been a lot of headlines in the news about "every home having to replace their gas boiler with a heat pump", however, this is incredibly misleading.
While heat pumps certainly emit less carbon than their gas boiler counterparts, they are not suitable for every home in the UK and they are also incredibly expensive.
Still, recent schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme does intend to help subsidise the cost of replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump less financially burdensome.
For some perspective, the UK has announced their ambition to install 600,000 heat pumps each year by 2028.
The UK has set a target of 600,000 heat pumps each year by 2028. That's a huge number.
In the UK around 17 million households use gas boilers for home heating, with most remaining properties typically using an oil boiler as they aren’t connected to the gas network.
However, this year, around 30,000 heat pumps will be installed. Over 1,000,000 gas boilers will be fitted in that same period.
These numbers illustrate how the situation currently stands, yet there is little doubt that heat pumps will play an important role in the UK's carbon-neutral future.
The transition to hydrogen boilers
The transition to hydrogen gas is a moving picture, so the exact timelines and dates of when 100% hydrogen boilers or hydrogen gas are going to be available are unknown.
However, what is clear is that it is going to be a step-by-step transition that will happen over many years.
The good news is that boiler manufacturers have already started to develop hydrogen ready boiler prototypes and have made it clear that their intention is to price them at a similar rate as current gas boilers.
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