Installation of energy saving measures has continued throughout 2021 as part of the Green Homes Grant, despite the scheme closing to new applications in March.
In total, there have been 48,855 installations as part of the voucher scheme, with 12,330 of these being low carbon heat, according to new statistics released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
This is broken down into 4,908 heat pumps (3,924 air source, 29 ground source and 955 hybrid) and 7,422 solar thermal installations.
Low carbon heat therefore made up 25.2% of all installations, with air source heat pumps representing 8%, ground source 0.1%, hybrid 2% and solar thermal 15.2%.
Insulation has proved the most popular measure, however, with 33,247 installations, representing 68%.
The most popular month for installations this year was June, when there were 5,736. Installations of low carbon heat hit 1,516 in the month, with 404 of these being air source heat pumps, 3 ground source, 153 hybrid and 956 solar thermal installations.
Last month, meanwhile, there were a total of 2,397 installations, of which 937 were low carbon heat. This is split into 337 air source heat pumps, 5 ground source heat pumps, 18 hybrid heat pumps and 577 solar thermal installations.
The north west has seen the most low carbon heat installations to date, with 2,721. This is followed by the south west (1,563), the east (1,431) and Yorkshire and the Humber (1,400).
The Green Homes Grant shuttered after a string of administrative issues, with installers reporting in January they had not been paid while members of the public were waiting for months to be issued vouchers.
Indeed, as of February 2021, there had only been close to 6,000 installations but 123,537 applications for vouchers. Of those, 28,277 vouchers had been issued and 2,908 vouchers paid.
In September, it was revealed that just 20% of the £1.5 billion initially allocated to the voucher scheme is to be spent, with millions of the total expenditures also being spent on administration costs.
Since the closure of the Green Homes Grant, other schemes have been announced to support energy efficiency installations. Most notably, the government announced in its Heat and Buildings Strategy that it is to offer grants of £5,000 for the installation of heat pumps from April 2022 as part of a £450 million scheme to upgrade domestic heating infrastructure.
Additionally, the Mayor of London announced £51 million through the Warmer Homes scheme for the rollout of energy efficiency technologies including insulation, ventilation and heat pumps across the capital.