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July 2025 - Housing

Cost concerns may deter UK homeowners from installing heat pumps, study finds: A recent poll indicates that many adults in the UK are hesitant to invest in installing heat pumps in their homes. Although nearly two-thirds (65%) support the UK’s plan to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050, the high upfront costs of installing a heat pump remain a major obstacle to the government’s efforts to decarbonise UK homes.

The YouGov survey on behalf of energy trade body Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) polled 2,126 UK adults, between the 19^th and 20^th of June this year, to determine how much they would be willing to pay to have low-carbon heating systems installed in their homes.  Of those polled, nearly 4 in ten (38%) stated they were not prepared to pay anything, while 26% said they would be willing to pay between £500 - £1000.

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) estimates that the average cost of installing a heat pump under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is around £13,000, and even with the £7,500 subsidy provided by the BUS, households would still need to pay approximately £5,500 themselves for the installation of the heat pump, which, according to the EUA, is a cost the majority of UK households are unable or unwilling to meet. This is borne out by the survey results, which found that just 4% of respondents would be willing to pay more than £5000 for installation.

Based on similar survey results last year, the EUA believes that it is time for Whitehall to come up with another plan or else risk eroding public support for achieving Net Zero targets.  

Mike Foster, CEO of EUA said: “Heat pumps have a role to play in decarbonising UK homes, especially for the relatively well-off. For the vast majority of households, they simply are unwilling to spend the sums needed to fit them. Something needs to change; we need a new plan.”

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