Lancashire heating firm Baxi welcomes government plan to replace natural gas boilers in our homes

The firm, famous for its combi-boilers in homes across the land, said it had already made significant steps towards developing new green technology to help the country reduce its dependence on fossil fuels such as natural gas in the future.

A spokesman said: “We are involved in ground-breaking demonstration projects with the Hy4Heat consortium, including the UK’s first hydrogen fuelled home in Gateshead, together with investing in Air Source Heat Pumps and Heat Network components.

"To achieve net zero emissions how we heat our buildings must change. Not only does this require innovation from the heating industry but also a pragmatic policy framework.

“We firmly believe that all viable technologies have a place, including electrification, hydrogen, and deployment of low carbon heat networks.”

It added that it was pleased to see a £5,000 grant plan to support change via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, but it was not keen on the proposals to reallocate the levy cost aspect of electricity bills onto gas bills over time.

The spokesman added: "We must collectively deliver a just energy transition, ensuring no households are left behind. Running cost is a critical consideration and fuel poverty has no place in one of the world’s leading economies.

"As such we have concerns over the proposals to reallocate the levy cost aspect of electricity bills onto gas bills over time. This is a sensitive topic which needs to be carefully considered. In our white paper we proposed an alternative approach which has the desired effect of improving cost-competitiveness of heat pump technology without disadvantage to those less able to pay or unable to join the first wave of switching to low carbon heat."

Energy minister Greg Hands said the Government’s plan to incentivise people to replace their old gas boilers with low-carbon heating options does not mean every single house in the UK will be provided with a heat pump.

Instead, Mr Hands said, it will show a “signal” to the private sector and kickstart that market. However he said they were committed to the existing target of 600,000 homes a year having a heat pump by the year 2028.