RURAL households in the Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot areas could face unfairly higher costs to upgrade to green heating systems under a new environmental plan unveiled recently by the Prime Minister.

Boris Johnson’s ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ plan outlines welcome intentions to reduce carbon emissions from home heating. However, the focus on installing electric heat pumps to achieve this could leave many rural households across the region suffering costly consequences.

Heat pumps are an excellent technology in the right setting as one of a range of options open to consumers. However, the systems are expensive to install – on average £10,900 - and work best in well-insulated properties to avoid high running costs.

This means that without serious investment, heat pumps are unlikely to be suitable for around 65 per cent of oil heated properties (765,000 homes) which are in EPC Bands E-G and among the least energy efficient homes in the UK.

Government estimates that bringing properties in Band E up to an acceptable Band C would cost on average £12,300. For properties in EPC Bands F or G, the figure would be even higher at £18,900.

With disposable incomes already lower in rural areas and fuel poverty levels deeper, concerns have been raised that many households will be left seriously disadvantaged by the lack of affordable green heating options available, particularly in the current economic climate.

Paul Rose, chief executive of liquid fuels trade association OFTEC said: “It’s unlikely that government will be able to fully support its proposed changes with grants or other financial incentives for rural households due to the high costs involved.

“It’s therefore crucial the 114,000 oil-heated households in Wales are offered more choice over the solutions they use to decarbonise their home heating, otherwise they will unfairly face enormous expense.

OFTEC and fellow trade association the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA) are undertaking trials of a cheaper, more practical solution in the form of a renewable liquid fuel which is produced from used cooking oil, fats and greases and offers a near drop-in replacement for heating oil, while dramatically cutting carbon emissions.

Guy Pulham, Chief Executive of UKIFDA, added: “We strongly urge the government to be technology neutral and to create a fair, inclusive, supportive and effective policy on eliminating carbon from home heating.

“The government must include liquid biofuels on the list of decarbonisation solutions for home heating, for off-grid homes currently using heating oil.”

Converting existing oil-heated systems to run on the new fuel would cost no more than £500 for a working boiler, or £3,000 if the boiler is broken and needs replacing – much the same as the current cost of a new boiler.

There would also be no pressing need to upgrade insulation, although this is always a good idea to help reduce running costs and improve comfort levels.

For more information, visit www.oftec.org/future-heating and www.ukifda.org/consumers/future-liquid-fuels/