UK Government Heat & Buildings Strategy
20/10/2021
On 19 October 2021 the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy launched a Heat and Buildings Strategy. The strategy sets out how the UK will decarbonise our homes, and our commercial, industrial and public sector buildings, as part of setting a path to net zero by 2050.
A summary of the proposed approach:
1. A whole-buildings and whole-system approach is needed to minimise costs of decarbonisation – the government will consider the heating system in the context of what is most appropriate for the whole building, as well as considering local and regional suitability and how best to manage system-level impacts. This will also deliver UK jobs across a variety of specialisms.
2. Innovation is essential to driving down costs, improving options and informing future decisions – the government will ensure that regional, local and national decisions can be informed by the latest data and research and we will continue to work with industry to refine processes and technologies to deliver value for money and value for the UK economy.
3. In parallel, the government needs to accelerate ‘no- and low-regrets’ action now – Prioritising action to: improve buildings with low energy performance and high-carbon emissions, futureproof new-builds to avoid the need for later retrofitting, adopt a fabric-first approach to improve building thermal efficiency, increase the performance of products and appliances, ensuring climate change resilience by mitigating risks of overheating and poor air quality, build the market by developing our technical expertise, growing the workforce, and expanding the UK’s manufacturing capacity and capability. This includes building the market to install at least 600,000 hydronic heat pumps per year by 2028, which will be needed in all paths to Net Zero.
4. The government will balance certainty and flexibility to provide both stability for investment and an enabling environment for different approaches to be taken to address different buildings – they will provide long-term signals to investment by setting requirements and embedding flexibility in how they are achieved, so businesses and the public can prepare to decarbonise in a way that suits them and maximise the opportunities this presents, including investing in training in greener skills.
5. Government will target support to enable action for those in most need – they will make sure that our policies support those who are hardest hit by COVID-19, such as small businesses and the fuel poor and will also use taxpayer money efficiently to transform public sector buildings and improve the support and protection available for consumers.
Click here to read the strategy