Gas Boiler Ban Delay - very few backed original idea

Fewer than one in five homeowners support the government’s plans to ban gas boilers in new homes by 2025, with 83 per cent in favour of the delay announced this week. 

First announced in 2019 the ban had originally intended to phase out all gas boilers by 2025. 

However, while the delay to the ban has been focussed around giving landlords and homeowners more time to make the change, the ban itself only relates to new-build homes constructed after its implementation. 

As it stands 78 per cent of the UK’s estimated fuel usage comes from gas and 25m of us have a gas boiler.

The research - by Fair Fix - found that 97 per cent of those surveyed rely on a gas boiler, with other methods such as heat pumps - the government’s preferred replacement of choice - accounting for merely two per cent of households.

The key reason that many current investors and homeowners haven’t considered making the change to a more eco-friendly energy source is the cost of installation, with the required changes to their home also a factor, as well as scepticism around how much money they would actually save. 

An air source heat pump can cost £8,000 with installation costing an additional £2,000. A ground source heat pump can cost up to £15,000, with as much as an additional £5,000 required to install. 

A biomass boiler can also cost as much as £15,000 for larger family homes, with solar panels costing around £6,000 to install.

Founder of Fair Fix, Tyrone Ekrem, comments: “Although the government’s intentions to reduce our environmental impact are commendable, it’s rather presumptuous to implement a ban on gas boilers on behalf of the entire nation and, as our research shows, the vast majority are against such an idea. 

“However, it’s important to note that if such a ban did come to fruition, it would only apply to new-build homes built from there on out. This means that for existing homeowners, there is no obligation to have your boiler replaced if you don’t wish to. 

“With previous government initiatives, such as smart metres, coming under heavy fire for actually costing people money, you can understand why the nation is hesitant about a move away from the tried and tested methods of powering their homes.”