OVO has announced it has cut its heat pump running costs by 50% to 15p/kWh, making it cheaper to run than a gas boiler.
According to the energy supplier, cutting the cost for the electricity used by heat pumps will make the technology £500 cheaper (or roughly half price) of running a gas boiler, based on the latter running at 83% efficiency (as per the national average) with an annual consumption of 10,500 kWh at 8.5p/kWh.
This move is hoped to tackle concerns that heat pumps are more expensive to run than traditional boilers – a concern expressed by 55% of respondents in a recent study, according to OVO.
OVO’s own research found that 45% of the UK population (almost 12.7 million homes) would install a heat pump if running costs were 40% lower than the current average.
Mat Moakes, chief commercial officer at OVO, said: “The UK is trailing far behind Europe on its heat pump installations. By halving the running costs of a heat pump, we’re helping to level the playing field between gas boilers and heat pumps, making them a more viable option for those wanting to make the green switch to electric. But this has to be the case across the board. It’s time to shift policy costs from electricity to general taxation so everyone can benefit from greener, cheaper electric heating systems, sooner.”
Following the government recently increasing the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant from £5,000 to £7,500, the upfront cost of an OVO heat pump starts at £500.