May 22, 2025 Net Zero
Heating accounts for around 37% of the UK’s carbon emissions. If we don’t address that, we won’t hit Net Zero. However, successive governments have failed to be realistic in their approach to green heat, and the suite of technology and solutions required. That is something to address urgently.
As climate politics continue to obstruct genuine progress, and detail on the government’s strategy for Net Zero is conspicuously absent, here is what needs to happen to decarbonise UK heating, and the technology that needs to play a role.
Why heat pumps are sometimes the answer, but not for every building
There is no doubt that heat pumps are part of the solution. There are buildings for which they are the perfect low-carbon technology, but that is not the case for every building.
The ‘flow temperature’ of a heat pump is lower than that of other technologies, so to heat a space effectively it requires a substantial surface area of heat radiation, relative to the space, and the building in question needs to be very well insulated.
Those conditions are simply not achievable for many buildings, especially older and larger ones.
Why wood heat is a vital component of decarbonisation
There are hundreds of thousands of domestic and commercial buildings that are off the gas grid, and for which heat pumps are not a viable option.
Large industrial and agricultural premises could never achieve sufficient levels of insulation, nor could they accommodate the radiators that would be required to complement a heat pump. Old houses would have to rip out existing heating systems and install entirely new ones, as well as fitting extensive and complex insulation, both of which would be prohibitively expensive, if they’re even possible.
For heat with sufficient reliability and power, those buildings need combustion. The low-carbon form of that is wood heat.
Existing decarbonisation support is not technology-agnostic
Despite the nuance of heating decarbonisation, the support that exists is profoundly biased towards heat pumps.
- The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) offers £7,500 of subsidy for a heat pump installation, but just £5,000 for a bioenergy boiler
- Marketing and communications around the BUS focus exclusively on heat pumps
- The installation target of 600,000 is related only to heat pumps
Bioenergy cannot be an afterthought. To exclude it is to exclude a swathe of UK buildings from decarbonising, and in doing so to jeopardise Net Zero.
The government must recognise that fact, and offer a more robust, more inclusive, and more realistic scheme to support heating decarbonisation, as a core part of its wider Net Zero strategy. That support must also include businesses, who are not able to take advantage of the BUS.
Innasol continues to call for a technology-agnostic decarbonisation scheme from the government. To read more of our thoughts on policy, climate politics, and decarbonisation, you can read our blog. Or, to discuss the best approach to future-proofing your energy, please call 01621 892613 to speak to a renewable energy expert who can advise on the heat or power solution for your premises.
