The UK government is considering giving people more choice when it comes to upgrading their domestic heating systems and is planning to create as many as 18,000 training positions in green industries.
MP Miatta Fahnbulleh and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero have announced that working families could get more options on upgrades, including new technology such as heat batteries and air-to-air heat pumps. It would also offer new purchase options from companies such as https://gsmlimited.com/services/air-source-heat-pumps/cheltenham.
There is also a plan to create what has been dubbed a ‘clean power army’ with as many as 18,000 heating professionals set to be trained to install the likes of air source heat pumps Cheltenham and across England and Wales. They will also be taught how to retrofit homes.
Warm Homes Plan
The changes to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme are being considered under the government’s Warm Homes Plan. The moves would complement an increase in interest in air source heat pumps in Cheltenham and beyond and make the £7,500 grants available under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme more widely available. March 2025 saw the biggest uptake of the grants since it was launched in 2022, showing an 88 per cent increase compared to March 2024.
Benefits of Heat Pumps
The government estimates that heat pumps can reduce energy bills by around £100 a year when combined with smart tariffs and has now launched a consultation on the scheme expansions. This could see the likes of heat batteries and air-to-air pumps being included in the scheme as well as offering monthly leasing schemes on green heating sources and other payment and ownership choices.
The government has also announced that it is investing more than £4.5 million in a company specialising in heat pump technology to continue to build a British heat pump industry. It has also pledged to train an ‘army’ of workers to help achieve these aims. The investment in Northern Irish firm Copeland will be spent on the manufacture of heating compression technology, which is a key part of heat pumps.
