Heating scheme to warm 250 UK homes with free low carbon heat pumps

The installations will be offered to homes which already have gas central heating and will be complemented by checks, energy tariffs and usage advice

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A total of 250 homes across Newcastle-upon-Tyne are set to receive low carbon heat pumps for free from July.

The scheme launched today by BEIS and E.ON aims to investigate ways to encourage more people to adopt low carbon heating instead of traditional gas and boilers.

The initiative will also explore whether the expansion of low carbon heating technology is possible ahead of the proposed ban on installing gas boilers in new homes from 2025.

The free installations of heat pumps along with a range of innovative secondary technologies, such as thermal stores, will be offered mainly to homes which already have gas central heating and will be complemented by checks, energy tariffs and usage advice to ensure the technology is operating properly.

E.ON, which has secured £3.9 million governmental funding, will identify suitable customers using data captured from its satellite imaging technology and Newcastle City Council.

The energy company plans to install the heat pumps in July and the duration of the scheme is expected to be extended until March 2022.

Clare Penny-Evans, Newcastle City Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Communities, said: “For us, this is not just about the 250 homes that will benefit now, but what we hope it will teach us so that we might in the future be able to apply this technology right across our communities and support local jobs and businesses in the green economy.”

Michael Lewis, CEO of E.ON UK, said: “The way we heat our homes is now one of the UK’s largest contributors to climate change. Working with BEIS and Newcastle City Council, we’ll demonstrate that heat pumps are one of the smart, personalised and sustainable solutions that will help us in meeting that challenge.”

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