Gas networks and boiler manufacturers have written an open letter to Boris Johnson urging the prime minister to establish a mandate that all new boilers installed in Britain’s homes must be “hydrogen-ready” from 2025.
This is the same year in which the government originally announced plans to introduce a ban on the installation of fossil fuel heating in new houses as part of the Future Homes Standard. The letter said a hydrogen-ready mandate would enable consumers to “choose the appliances that are right for them and the properties they live in.”
“Whether they choose hydrogen-ready boilers, heat pumps or innovative hybrid heating solutions that bring the two together, the principle of consumer choice should be key,” the letter argued.
“That is necessary to ensure policy moves forward with public support and so that different types of homes, in a variety of different settings, are able to access low carbon appliances that are both practical and realistic in their installation and use. Without that choice, we will fail.”
It continued: “Hydrogen-ready boilers have a particularly exciting role to play as part of this mix, offering the opportunity for people to continue to use their heating, cooking and hot water in the same way they do today, without major changes to their homes.
“Because they are compatible with a gas grid that delivers 100 per cent hydrogen, they will allow households to smoothly transition away from natural gas as the amount of hydrogen and biomethane in our gas grid gradually increases, in-line with the broader suite of policies that you have recently announced.”
The signatories to the letter include all four of the gas distribution network in Great Britain – Cadent, SGN, Northern Gas Networks and Wales and West Utilities – as well as National Grid, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) and the boiler manufacturers Baxi and Worcester Bosch.
Karen Boswell, managing director for the UK and Ireland at Baxi Heating UK, said: “Hydrogen has an important role to play in the net zero challenge and can offer consumers a relatively low disruption option for decarbonising heat.
“A mandate for hydrogen ready boilers represents an effective pragmatic step which would help to prepare households, simplifying a future changeover.”
ENA chief executive David Smith said: “People must be able to choose the technology that’s right for them and the properties they live in, otherwise all the other progress we’ve made risks being undone. We need hydrogen-ready boilers, heat-pumps and any other technology that can help deliver that.”