Off-grid homes and businesses overlooked in Seventh Carbon Budget

The Seventh Carbon Budget indicates homeowners could save on energy bills and cut emissions by investing in heat pumps for their home heating. Yet research shows 20% of off-grid homes are not suitable for a heat pump and 70% of rural homeowners say they are unaffordable[1].

This is because many off-grid homes are complex to decarbonise, typically being energy inefficient. In these circumstances, heat pumps can cost up to £32,000 when energy efficiency measures are considered.

As a result, this heat pump only approach and a ‘blanket’ boiler ban will leave off-grid, typically rural property owners out in the cold and out of pocket, placing unnecessary financial strain on the 2 million off-grid homes that currently rely on traditional heating fuels, such as LPG.

Yet, the urgent need to decarbonise heat in the UK cannot be delayed.

Households and businesses require affordable alternatives to electric technologies such as heat pumps, and low carbon alternatives to fossil derived gases, with a solution already present through renewable liquid gases.

This drop-in, low-carbon fuel is produced from renewable or recycled feedstocks - even municipal solid waste - and can be used seamlessly with existing LPG infrastructure, at a fraction of the cost of installing a heat pump.

Most importantly, renewable liquid gases can deliver up to a 90% reduction in carbon emissions compared to traditional fuels and could save some households up to £2,000 annually compared to the operating cost of a heat pump.

With the right policy support, displacing fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal with renewable liquid gases could result in removing the equivalent carbon emissions of1.3 million cars by 2050.

As an industry committed to being 100% renewable by 2040, we can support both off-grid and on-grid households, through the transition to net zero.

A cautious and flexible approach to decarbonising heat is essential and only a mixed-technology strategy can deliver this.

Yours sincerely,

George Webb, CEO Liquid Gas UK

[1] *Polling was carried out by Focal Data on behalf of Liquid Gas UK. 1,012 people who live in properties not connected to the gas network were surveyed between 15th and 17th February 2023. Data was weighted based on population to ensure a representative sample.