The Alternative Green Energy Thread

JKenH

Just when I was coming round to the idea of a heat pump, as after 35 years my oil tank is nearing the end of its life, I read this. 

Hundreds of thousands to lose heat pump subsidies in Reeves’s budget plan

The move will mean restricting heat-pump subsidies so that only those receiving certain benefits will be allowed to claim them, sharply bringing down costs to the government.

Supporters of the change say that the subsidies, which can be as high as £7,500, were largely going to middle-class households that could have afforded them anyway. Energy industry experts, however, warn that by taking the support away ministers will slow the transition from gas boilers to more expensive but cleaner heat pumps.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/13/hundreds-of-thousands-to-lose-heat-pump-subsidies-in-reevess-budget-plan

edit: just noticed this has also been raised on the Energy thread so maybe best discussed there.

QrizB

JKenH said:

Just when I was coming round to the idea of a heat pump, as after 35 years my oil tank is nearing the end of its life, I read this. 

There's a fairly recent and mildly controversial thread on the Heat Pumps sub-board where a poster claims that he could get near-identical quotes for a heat pump, either with or without the £7.5k BUS grant.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6628652/ashp-quotes/p1

I tried local MCS-listed installers and also big energy companies. All quotes came in around £15 k, minus the £7.5 k BUS grant, leaving £7.5 k to pay.

I also tried installers not part of BUS; their quotes average around £8 k. It seems the grant benefits the installer rather than the customer.

Some of the difference will be because the BUS grant requires extra admin, but I can't see how the admin would cost £7k. So possibly there has been some price-gouging by installers, and perhaps getting rid of the grant won't make a huge change to the price the householder pays for a heat pump.

Perhaps.

Noting that you can buy a monobloc heat pump and basic controller for ~£1000 or less these days. It might not deliver the absolute best COP but the energy cost difference between a COP of 3 and a COP of 5 might only be £330 a year.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6581544/cop-diminishing-returns-on-investment/p1