Heat pump campaign group thinks new boiler ban is ‘unfair and unreasonable’

A home with a heat pump (Image: Getty) Banning new oil boilers in rural and off-the-grid homes by 2026 would be “unfair and unreasonable,” campaigners have said. Bean Beanland, of the Heat Pump Federation, a lobbying group of more than 100 members and advises the Government, has now called on the ban to be delayed. It comes as the Government has backed heat pumps as the main alternative to oil boilers for rural families. Speaking to The Telegraph, Beanland said: ‘To be honest, 2026 is probably looking to be, in most people’s eyes, an unfair and unreasonable timeframe in which to make the change.” While the Government has unveiled plans to ban the boilers, it has yet to bring the plan into legislation, which campaigners say would give households and the wider industry little time to prepare. New oil boilers could be banned (Image: Getty) Beanland says more time is needed to allow for the changes to come in. He also wants to wait for running costs to come down and public acceptance to increase. He believes it should be pushed back to 2028. He added: “Two years to react to something that’s relatively fundamental isn’t really long enough.” The Government is curretly working on long-awaited reforms in the electricity market. It hopes this will bring down the running costs of heat pumps. There is also thought to be a shortage of grid capacity with delays for connections already affecting installations in some areas. There are 1.7 million homes in the UK that are not connected to the gas grid. Former cabinet minister George Eustice called the ban the “rural ULEZ” (Image: Getty) The vast majority of homes not connected to the gas grid are in rural areas. They often use expensive and high-polluting fuels including oil, coal and liquefied petroleum gas to provide heating. Conservative MPs have raised concerns that a ban could leave households unable to afford to switch. Or, they could be made to use heat pumps despite concerns about their efficiency and running costs. On Wednesday, more MPs joined calls to scrap or delay the ban after George Eustice, the former environment secretary, labelled it a ‘rural Ulez’. Sir Edward Leigh, the MP for Gainsborough, said: ‘It’s completely madness to have a sort of rapid phase-out of these oil boilers. It’s very expensive, putting in a heat pump. Green groups have also accepted the ban ought to be delayed. Juliet Phillips, from think tank E3G, said: ‘The Government consulted on a 2026 fossil heating phase-out timeline for off-grid homes back in 2021, but never issued a response to the consultation. “Over the two-year period since then, the Conservatives have done nothing to provide rural homes and businesses the clarity or support necessary to meet this timeline.” The Telegraph claims the Government could allow households to install new boilers past the deadline, so long as they run more eco-friendly fuels. Existing boilers can be converted to biofuel, which backers say reduces emissions by 90%. Eustace is set to support an amendment to the Energy Bill when it returns to Parliament in the autumn. The suggested change would mean biofuels are effectively subsidised to encourage people to make the switch.