UK domestic gas boilers emit twice as much CO2 as all power plants – study | Gas

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Millions of gas boilers in UK homes produce twice as much carbon emissions from climate heating as all gas-fired power plants in the country combined, according to an analysis.

The researchers said the findings highlight the urgent need for strong government policy for the rapid introduction of low-carbon heating such as heat pumps.

The data also shows that domestic gas boilers collectively produce eight times as much nitrogen dioxide as power plants. Nitrogen dioxide is an air pollutant linked to tens of thousands of premature deaths annually in the UK.

Ministers pledged to publish their heat and buildings strategy ahead of the UN’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. The government is also struggling with high gas prices, which have been driven by rapid growth in demand after the pandemic around the world.

Heat pumps are powered by electricity and are efficient, but they cost much more to install than gas boilers. The CBI said the installation of new gas boilers must be banned from 2025 or else the UK’s net net climate target would be “doomed to fail”.

A second analysis found that higher gas prices meant that energy bills for people living in poorly insulated homes would rise by as much as £246 a year. The UK has the oldest housing stock in Western Europe, but insulation installation rates fell by 95% between 2012 and 2019. A recent government energy efficiency scheme collapsed six months later, with the National Audit Office blaming ministers for the “failed” policy.

Neil Jones, of the Possible Climate Foundation, which produced analysis of gas boilers with social foundation Scene, said: “Amidst the dreaded gas price crisis, a decade of missed opportunities for the government to insulate our homes, supporting families to begin the switch to cleaning heat pumps has suddenly become a focus.

“It is time for the government to finally give us all the tools we need to modernize our homes, ensuring a safer and cleaner future.”

The UK lags behind most European countries in terms of heat pump installations.

The possible analysis used government data to estimate carbon dioxide emissions and air pollution from domestic gas boilers and power plants in the UK. It found that the boilers used in a city the size of Leeds pump out the same amount of carbon dioxide as a single gas power plant. Home energy use contributes to around 15% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

“This analysis hammers another nail in the coffin for fossil fuel heating,” said Jess Ralston, of the nonprofit Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). The dangers posed by gas boilers are becoming increasingly apparent. The upcoming Heating and Buildings strategy presents the perfect opportunity to go big and bold and cement a healthier, more affordable, and greener future for Brits.”

The second analysis, conducted by the ECU, found that homes with Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) in band D, the average rating for England and Wales, would pay an additional £107 a year for their gas at current high prices, compared to those living in a home Rated in band C. For those who live in homes with an EPC rating of F, the increase is £246 per year.

However, the situation would be much worse without the energy efficiency measures that have been installed in recent years, with the Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Group estimating that bills would have been up to £500 a year.

Insulate Britain, a protest group calling for the government to create a legally binding national plan to fund low-carbon retrofits for all homes in Britain by 2030, has repeatedly closed motorways, A roads and the Port of Dover in recent weeks.

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