In partnership with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), this project will aim to get initial views on whether an area-based approach could make home decarbonisation more attractive.

We have created a blueprint that sets out how a coordinated approach might work,based on workshops held in England, Wales and Scotland. Using insights and stakeholder feedback we have identified the steps a coordinated approach to low-carbon heating might entail.

We would now like to understand whether such an approach holds promise to be rolled out to citizens across the UK, and are focusing our testing in three areas: zoning areas for certain types of heating; designing area-based schemes in these zones; and making the schemes attractive enough that households sign up. This project aims to do some early testing of that last question, on what is attractive to households. We would also like to hear perspectives from households on what form this process should take, whether as a national service, a local authority-led scheme or a private venture.

BIT’s Predictiv testing tool presents participants with a number of scenarios to choose from, and can also unlock information about their preferences and choices. By partnering with BIT, we will be gathering real-life insights about the impact a coordinated approach to low-carbon heating might have on achieving our objective to decarbonise the UK housing stock.

This project will help us understand how households might respond to an area-based approach to low-carbon heating, and help bring the principles that underpin coordinated switching in contact with reality. Do households feel there is a need for this coordinated approach? Would they adopt it? Using an online experiment will help bring early answers to those questions and inform future work.

Our aim is to decarbonise 30% of the UK’s housing fabric by 2030. To do this, the number of households equipped with low-carbon heating technology, such as heat pumps, needs to increase drastically. Currently, however, households are expected to switch from a boiler to a different system on an individual basis. They must then navigate a complex customer journey, and often pay a high cost to acquire a heat pump, but also to modernise their homes’ heating system. In a number of cities and towns across the UK, residents are also faced with additional barriers, such as accessing finance and planning, which can hinder or discourage them from adopting a low-carbon heating system.

With this test, we are hoping to establish proof of concept for a coordinated approach to switching to low-carbon heating, understanding whether it might be an attractive solution to residents provided it offers enough incentives. Working in partnership with BIT, we will secure real-life insights about households’ needs and preferences to pave the way for an area-based approach.

As of November 2024, we are collaborating with BIT on designing a survey. Data will be collected through December 2024 and January 2025, with an aim to publish the results in the spring.