Consumers face months-long delays to installing air conditioning in their homes despite being able to access £2,500 grants to help pay for it, The i Paper can reveal.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which offers government grants for green energy upgrades to homes, was been expanded to include air-to-air heat pumps that can cool your home from 28 April.
But installers – who apply for the grants on behalf of homeowners before passing on a cost reduction – are still awaiting accreditation to be able to fit the heat pumps, warning this means the scheme may be unavailable to customers until late summer.
It could take “a few months, at least” to get this accreditation and train up the thousands of installers needed to meet demand for the scheme, the National Federation of Builders has warned.
The air conditioning grant is also only available to homeowners, meaning some tenants in high-rise flats more vulnerable to sweltering temperatures during heatwaves will have to rely on landlords choosing to install the cooling systems.
It comes as Britons prepare for a heatwave over the bank holiday weekend, with temperatures forecast to rise as high as 30°C in parts of the UK.
The Climate Change Committee this week warned that the UK was “built for a climate that no longer exists” and that air conditioning will be needed in homes, hospitals, schools, prisons and care homes for people to survive the years to come.
Delays to air con grants
Last month, ministers expanded the BUS, which provides grants for low-carbon heating systems, to include air-to-air heat pumps that cool your home.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNEZ) said grants are now open and people can apply by contacting an accredited installer to get a quote.
But the National Federation of Builders (NFB) warned that consumers may struggle to find an accredited installer this summer as it claimed many businesses have not yet joined the scheme, and staff have not been trained.
Installers should be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation scheme, as this gives them greater protection if things go wrong.
It works by homeowners agreeing a quote with an installer, who then applies via the Ofgem website and removes the grant from the amount the customer pays on the invoice.
But MCS is still waiting for certification from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) – the nation’s national accreditation body – meaning it is not currently available to consumers, and there is no clear timeline on when this will happen.
MCS said it has “progressed at pace” to update the scheme, but added that it “can’t control the timeline for these final steps as they are driven by UKAS and certification bodies”.
Even when the scheme is approved, the NFB said it will take “a little while for the whole system to come on stream” as businesses must complete the paperwork needed to get accreditation, and some 40,000 workers with the right installation skills must complete a conversion course.
“It’s going to take a good few months for the industry to understand what is required of them in order for them to satisfy the accreditation route that the government has put in place,” said Rico Wojtulewicz, policy director at NFB.
“You won’t be able to get it done over the weekend if it’s via the grant scheme, but hopefully in a few months time we’ll have speedier installations and also we’ll have more people qualified to do the works,” he told The i Paper.
Tenants face ‘dangerously hot’ homes
The grant is only available to homeowners, meaning some tenants face “dangerously hot” temperatures and potentially “life of death scenarios”, according to Ben Leonard from ACORN, a renters’ rights campaign group.
Renters facing the most extreme heat are often the middle or large blocks of flags, with south facing windows and no outdoor space.
Leonard said landlords should be making “full use” of these grants to add value to your property while also “making your tenant’s life better”.
But he added: “We can’t rely on landlords to do that, because often they just frankly don’t want the faff… There should be a mechanism by which a tenant can basically compel their landlord to make use of these grants.”
Clara Collingwood, director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said renters are “particularly exposed” to the risk of homes overheating as they cannot make significant changes themselves.
The Government’s Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) states that landlords must ensure homes are free of excess heat, with temperatures above 25°C leading to an increase in heat-related deaths and strokes.
Collingwood said that if measures such as opening windows does not cool a home down, landlords should install blinds and air conditioning where needed, and if reasonable requests are ignored, councils should take action.
It comes as the Climate Change Committee warned that the UK must prepare for “weather extremes” as global temperatures rise, with 92 per cent of homes expected to overheat by 2050.
It’s report, published on Wednesday, said the “intensity and duration of future heatwaves” means the government must design new houses to keep people cool “from the outset”, while existing homes should be retrofitted with air conditioning.
Who is eligible for the grant
The BUS provides £7,500 grants for homeowners looking to upgrade fossil fuel heating systems, such as gas boilers, to heat pumps.
Until recently, the scheme had been available for air source or ground source heat pumps, which heat water in radiators or underfloor pipes.
It was expanded to include a £2,500 grant for air-to-air heat pumps and thermal batteries for hot water storage, as The i Paper revealed last summer.
Air-to-air heat pumps have a similar mechanism to air source heat pumps, but they can either heat or cool air inside a building. They are often used alongside another heating system, such as a gas boiler or heat pump, but can also be used as an air conditioning system during hot summers.
Retailers such as John Lewis sold out of portable air conditioning units following a surge in sales last July, as The i Paper reported at the time.
Air-to-air heat pumps are a good option for flats or smaller homes as they are affordable, easier to install and do not require outdoor space.
However, the Government funding is only available for property owners, meaning renters would have to request that their landlords install an air-to-air heat pump system.
It is only available for households that are replacing existing fossil fuel heating systems. But you are still eligible if you have already had other funding to make your property more energy efficient, such as insulation.
The grant cannot be used to buy an air conditioner for use alongside a fossil fuel heating system, nor can it be used to replace low-carbon heating systems or systems in new-build properties.
A spokesperson from the DESNZ said the new £2,500 grants will ensure “everyone can access the savings they can bring” while improving the nation’s energy security.
“Brits are showing record demand for heat pumps and our Warm Homes Plan will help roll out clean power technology to millions,” they added.
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