News

Published on Friday 9 May, the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s report on retrofitting homes for net zero makes recommendations to government following a consultation period earlier in the year.

Focused on the need to deliver low carbon heating and energy efficient homes, the report notes the vast changes necessary for the existing building stock to reach the standards necessary for net zero. Four in five homes that will be occupied in 2050 have already been built and most will need retrofitting with low carbon heating systems and energy efficiency improvements for the UK to achieve net zero emissions.

The Climate Change Committee projects that all home heating will come from low carbon sources by 2050, with most coming from electric heating systems such as heat pumps or low carbon heat networks. Today, however, fewer than 3% of homes are connected to a heat network and fewer than 1% have a heat pump installed. The UK housing stock is also among the least energy efficient in Europe, which has trapped many households in fuel poverty.

UKERC’s evidence were noted in the report, particularly around the need to provide consumers with a range of financial options, as up front costs of heat pumps are unlikely to fall significantly in the near future.

Read the full House of Commons committee report.