The government is set to axe the 2035 phase-out of gas boilers in its Future Homes Standard, the i reports.
The Conservative government previously targeted an 80% phase-out by 2035, as well as banning off-grid gas boilers in the same year.
However, minimum standards in new builds should eliminate the installation of new gas boilers, so they should slowly be phased out as the UK produces more housing stock.
Rather than having an outright ban it’s thought Labour could impose taxes on boiler manufacturers if they fail to meet targets for installing heat pumps, the main alternative to using a gas boiler.
Claire Coutinho, Conservative energy spokeswoman, told the Daily Mail: “I’m afraid this is just a bait-and-switch from Labour as next week Ed Miliband will be introducing a boiler tax which will allow him to meddle with the price of boilers – effectively pricing families out of installing one by adding hundreds of pounds to the cost.”
The government currently offers a £7,500 grant for installing heat pumps, though they’re still considered a more expensive option, while they often don’t improve a property’s EPC rating.
The UK is currently well behind other European countries when it comes to heat pump adoption.
In Norway 635 out of every 1,000 households has a heat pump, compared to 47 in Germany and just 15 in the UK.