The Government last week announced plans to delay implementation of the CHMM until 1 April 2025. The initiative aims to fine gas and oil boiler manufacturers if they do not sell a percentage of heat pumps compared to their boiler sales. The main aim is to increase the number of heat pumps installed in the UK and bring down heat pump prices.

The government further announced that homeowners will have more choice in how they improve their home and will no longer have to install cavity wall or loft insulation to use the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which offers grants of £7,500 off the cost of heat pump installation.

Reacting to the Government’s proposal of a one-year delay to the start of the CHMM, Charlotte Lee, chief executive of the Heat Pump Association (HPA) said: “Whilst this does not provide the certainty industry desperately needs; it does offer an opportunity for the Government to deliver functioning processes in a transparent manner to enable the mechanism to work. This delay also provides time for the Government to lay the required Statutory Instruments to introduce the policy.

“We will continue to work closely with the Government to support the introduction of the CHMM in due course and call on them to use this time to take meaningful action to rebalance the price of electricity relative to gas, so the lowest carbon heat is the lowest cost heat, to further support the acceleration of decarbonised heat.”

Stewart Clements, director of the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC), said: “We welcome this news. The heating industry remains dedicated to reaching Net Zero, and we will continue to engage with the government to drive decarbonisation and support their relevant targets while also protecting consumers.

“Moving forward, an all-technological approach to decarbonisation will undoubtedly help the nation’s efforts. Heat pumps will have a role to play in the decarbonisation of heat, alongside other technologies such as heat networks, hybrid systems and hydrogen, and it’s important that we support customers in understanding the most suitable efficient upgrade available to them and their home.”

Thomas Farquhar, co-founder of clean tech startup Heatio said: “The news that the CHMM has been delayed for another year is disappointing. This was a proposal to increase competition and drive down prices for clean heat technologies such as heat pumps, making the move to clean energy more affordable and accessible for consumers.

“For years now, commitment to a low carbon future and energy security in UK homes has been a can, kicked further and further down the road. The rest of Europe is flying ahead with heat pump technology that is successfully and efficiently warming homes in cold climates. Instead, the UK is stalling. We are still installing 1.7million gas boilers and are handcuffing ourselves to high gas prices that spike – leaving more and more people in fuel poverty. There is a haze of misinformation about the efficiency and practicality of heat pumps and the decision to delay the CHMM adds to it.

“The changes to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in the government’s announcement however, that homeowners will have more choice in how they improve their home and will no longer have to install cavity wall or loft insulation to use the scheme, is definitely welcomed.

“Net Zero should be treated as a National Security issue. We need to remove the practical and financial barriers that consumers face when wanting to adopt green energy technology in their homes, not make it harder for them.”

Madeleine Gabriel, director of sustainable future at Nesta, said: “Heat pumps are the most efficient low carbon source of heating for people’s homes and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is helping keep installation costs down for households.

“The strength of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is that it is a straightforward offer with relatively few restrictions on eligibility. The Government’s announcement today removes further barriers to uptake meaning that even more homes will be eligible to use the grant to install a heat pump. This is good news – in fact, research we published today finds that it is all too easy for consumers to assume they won’t be eligible for this kind of Government scheme even when they are.

“Nevertheless, we are concerned that today’s launch of a consultation on delaying implementation of the CHMM sends the wrong signal to a key market for the future UK economy that needs stability to attract the right investment.”

Nesta has published a report looking at how policymakers could improve current and future subsidy schemes that increase the number of households adopting low-carbon heating systems.