TO BE PUBLISHED December 2024
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This conference will examine the way forward for energy efficiency in homes.
Delegates will assess progress and discuss priorities for policy, regulation and industry, with the new Government signalling a change in direction for decarbonising home heating.
Stakeholders and policymakers will consider what will be needed to achieve the reconfirmed target for all UK homes to have minimum EPC level C within a decade, with the recent Budget announcing £3.4bn investment in the Warm Homes Plan over the next three years, including £1.8bn for supporting fuel-poverty schemes, and assurance from the Government of a funding increase for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme due to high demand, as recent figures show that applications made through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in September 2024 have tripled from the same period last year.
The agenda includes discussion on next steps for the implementation of heat network zones, recently announced by the Government. With almost £6m funding dedicated to develop the zones, and construction expected to begin from 2026, delegates will look at practicalities of implementation, identifying best locations to plan and build the technology at scale, plans for recycling excess heat, and approaches for business engagement.
Delegates will look at the targeting of funding, and proposals including low interest loans and grants to support home improvements, such as insulation, solar panels or low carbon heating, as well as options for improving public awareness following the results of recent research revealing that almost half of UK consumers want to buy low-carbon heating, but 73% still don't know enough to make an informed purchase.
We expect discussion on how frameworks could be structured for implementing planned partnerships with local government and the financial and wider private sector in order to fund home and heating upgrades.
Implications for landlords and tenants in the private rented sector following the planned introduction of minimum energy efficiency standards by 2030 will also be discussed, including costs, responsibilities and the way forward for implementation.
Sessions in the agenda also include a focus on issues raised in the National Audit Office’s Decarbonising home heating report, published shortly before the general election, which expressed concerns around the plan to transition to low carbon heating in homes as it stood then, including over progress, cost issues, uptake of heat pumps into UK homes and public awareness. We are pleased to include a keynote session with Simon Bittlestone, Director, Value for Money, NAO.
We are also pleased to be able to include further keynote sessions with: David Capper, Director, Net Zero Buildings - Clean Heat, DESNZ; Richard Bellingham, Head, Heat Networks Implementation, Ofgem; Esther Harris, Senior Analyst, Buildings Mitigation, CCC; and Nigel Banks, Technical Director, Zero Bills and Low Carbon Homes, Octopus Energy. Wera Hobhouse MP and Sir Bernard Jenkin MP will be chairing the conference.
Delegates will consider the future for heat pump installation targets in light of the record number of installations in the UK in 2024, as well as considering concerns around whether the previous Government’s target of 600,000 installations per year by 2028 can be reached, with the Government planning to move forward with the Clean Heat Market Mechanism. Areas for discussion include the future role of heat pumps, reporting on the transition and providing certainty for the role of hydrogen in home heating before 2026, following the cancellation of trials.
Further sessions look at priorities for policy to establish and promote innovation and strong markets for low carbon heat technologies, the way forward for public information campaigns as well as for supporting innovation, developing the green jobs market, and fostering skills necessary for transition to low carbon heat.
Delegates will also assess the Government’s Clean Energy Mission, and plans for lowering the cost of energy and increasing energy security, as well as how these plans will impact the decarbonisation of heat.
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those due to attend include parliamentary pass-holders from both Houses of Parliament and officials from DESNZ; Defra; EA; Homes England; MHCLG; NIC; DBT; NAO; Ofwat; UKIB; CMA; GLD; DAERA, NI; Department for Communities, NI; Department for the Economy, NI; DfE; OBR; OPSS; HSE; Isle of Man Government; The Scottish Government; and the Welsh Government.
