A new strategic partnership between Lloyds Banking Group, Octopus Energy and Halifax is aiming to introduce air-source heat pumps for Halifax customers and boost the rollout of zero-carbon heating.
The agreement will allow Halifax customers who use mortgage borrowing to finance the installation of heat pumps.
The zero-emission technology can be installed at £3,000 as opposed to £8,000 via the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
In May, the government launched the new scheme designed to ease the adoption of low carbon heating technologies through a series of grants.
The scheme offers £5,000 off the cost and installation of an air source heat pump, £5,000 off the cost and installation of a biomass boiler and £6,000 off the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump, all of which can be completed without VAT.
However, the scheme is yet to deliver an upswing in enquiries for domestic heat pumps, Ground Source Heat Pump Association (GSHPA) members have said. In fact, it found that there have been fewer enquiries over the past two months than there had been a year ago.
“We’re always looking for ways to help people save money while accelerating the shift to a clean energy future. The pilot with Lloyds Banking Group comes at a crucial time for consumers facing a dual climate and cost of living crisis,” said Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product officer at Octopus Energy.
“It no longer needs to be a question of prioritising one over the other: heat pumps are greener than gas boilers, and thanks to Octopus, the government and Lloyds, they can be cheaper too.”
It is hoped that with the strategic partnership between Lloyds and Octopus will be able to integrate heat pump installations at a much faster rate. Even more so through the new collaboration with Halifax.
“Helping Britain live in better, warmer, more energy efficient homes is one of our key commitments. By working with Octopus, we are giving our customers the opportunity to make the heat pump switch now by helping bring the cost in line with, or even cheaper than, that of a gas boiler,” said Andrew Asaam, homes director at Halifax.
Alongside Octopus Energy, OVO Energy customers are also set to benefit from a new scheme that could see zero emission boilers (ZEBs) installed for free in the South East and the East of England.
Being performed as part of the UK Power Network’s “Neat Heat” project, in collaboration with OVO and clean technology company tepeo, the scheme is expected to provide real-world data on how certain technologies across the three companies could be utilised in order to use existing infrastructure in a “smarter way”.
The trial will last for 12 months and from the point in which the customer signs up, the participants could cut their carbon emissions by up to 40% per annum.
