The UK Government Schemes to Decarbonising Home Heating

The UK government has introduced several schemes to decarbonize the home heating system, such as the following: Energy Company Obligation (ECO4)The Energy Company Obligation is a government-backed scheme in which several energy companies are providing free-of-cost heating systems installation. It was started in 2013 and now it is in its fourth phase, which will last up to 2026. Its basic goal was to decarbonize the country to almost zero and enhance the energy efficiency of the homes in the UK. Goals of ECO4The UK government and energy companies wanted to help the UK residents in the following ways:

• Decrease the fuel poverty in the country.
• Increase the energy efficiency of the heating systems in homes.
• Reduce the carbon emissions to almost zero.
• Promote renewable energy resources.

Services of ECO4ECO4 fulfill these goals by providing different services to low income households, such as the following:

• They provide the insulation of different types, such as the loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, and floor insulation.
• To increase the efficiency of the heating system, they provide different heating systems, such as the following electric boilers, gas boilers, solar thermal heating systems, air source heat pumps, etc.
• ECO4 schemes provide several other home improvements, such as double glaze windows and ventilations.

Eligibility Criteria for ECO4Through ECO4, the UK government helps the low income and energy inefficient households, such as the following:

• The first eligibility criteria of ECO4 is the annual income of the household. It should be lower than £31,000.
• To ensure that the households are low income, they check whether the households are benefited from the government benefits, or not. The eligible government benefits are Child Tax Credit, Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Housing Benefits, Working Tax Credit, etc.
• If the households are affected by vulnerabilities, such as disability, disease, and broken heating system, the local authorities can also recommend them to energy companies.

Process of ECO4 SchemeThe process through which ECO4 scheme decarbonize the homes in the UK can be understood by the following ways:

1. The households ensure that they are eligible for the ECO4.
2. They need to ask a surveyor to assess the conditions of home.
3. In the third step, they will fill an application form and submit all the required documents.
4. After approval, an installation team will come and install an efficient heating system in home.

The heating systems installed by the ECO4 are not only energy efficient but also reduce the carbon emission. Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is also a UK government backed scheme in which they provide low carbon heating systems. Their main goal is to make the UK completely carbon free by the 2050s. That’s why they are considering all the low-income households to replace or upgrade their inefficient and high carbon boilers with the efficient ones. Services of Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)This scheme provides the services mainly to reduce the carbon emissions. For this purpose, they will have different types of efficient heating systems.

• Air Source Heat Pumps
• Ground Source Heat Pumps
• Biomass Boilers

All these boilers consume renewable energy resources. In this way, they will not only decrease the carbon emission but also fuel scarcity. Eligibility Criteria for Boiler Upgrade SchemeBoiler Upgrade Scheme provide the new boilers only to the households, which fulfill the following criteria:

• The team of BUS considers the properties in England and Wales. Moreover, they don’t consider the newly constructed properties.
• The installers check the insulation of properties and ensure that they have at least loft and cavity wall insulations.
• The BUS wants to reduce the energy emission. That’s why if the homes already have efficient systems they will not consider them eligible. They BUS only considers fossil fuel boilers for upgradation.

Process of Boiler Upgrade Scheme The Boiler Upgrade Scheme also decarbonize home heating by following the steps:

• First of all, the households need to check their eligibility.
• Then, they need to contact the installer who is certified from Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). The MCS installer will assess the home and heating system.
• After assessing, the installer will apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme on their behalf. Moreover, they will consider the heating requirements and suitable heating systems for their home.
• The MCS installer will work with the BUS scheme installers to complete the upgrade and replacement. Along with this, they ensure safety and compliance with safety standards.

They will provide £5000 if the households are eligible for Air Source Heat Pump and £6000 if they are eligible for Ground Source Heat Pump. Home Upgrade Grant (HUG)In Home Upgrade Grant (HUG), the UK government supports the local authorities to provide energy efficient and clean heating systems to low income households. This scheme is in its second phase, HUG2 in which the government has allocated £700m to local authorities for upgrading the energy inefficient homes. Services of Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) Home Upgrade Grant covers different types of home upgradation, such as the following:

• Home insulation, such as loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, and floor insulation are covered in this scheme.
• They provide different heating system upgrades, such as the Air Source Heat Pump, Ground Source Heat Pump, Biomass Boilers, and Solar Thermal Heating System.
• Other home upgrades, such as upgraded windows and doors, Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR), and heat control systems, such as thermostats.

Eligibility Criteria for Home Upgrade Grant (HUG)Home Upgrade Grant helps only those homes to reduce the carbon emissions which fulfill the following criteria:

• They target the low-income households which are facing fuel poverty. However, these households didn't have gas line connections.
• Moreover, they consider the home typically with the EPC rating of D, E, F, or G.
• The homeowners are eligible for this scheme. The tenants can also avail this scheme but with the contribution of house owners.
• The vulnerable homes in which households are affected by respiratory or cardiovascular diseases.

Process of Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) contribute in the decarbonizing the home heating process through the following steps:

• After ensuring the eligibility, households need to contact the local authorities to assess the home. They will check the house conditions, heating systems, insulations, and ventilations.
• They will take the documents and home details. After some time, they will give approval.
• They will send a team of certified installers to install the recommended heating systems in the homes.

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