The UK Government has been consulting on a potential requirement that all newly installed domestic-scale boilers must be “hydrogen-ready” from 2026. “Hydrogen-ready” boilers are boilers that can use 100% hydrogen gas as a fuel, but need to be converted to do so. Prior to this, they can use natural gas, including a blend of up to 20% hydrogen. This proposal assumes that the cost of hydrogen-ready boilers is at no additional cost once sales reach comparable levels.

We know that hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonising our energy, particularly in cases where large amounts of energy is needed quickly (such as in industrial applications like steel manufacturing). Hydrogen could also be used to heat homes, either by being blended with natural gas or by being used in a hydrogen gas network.

But there are a number of concerns about the likelihood and magnitude of hydrogen production. In particular, it’s likely that supply will vary across regions of the UK and will not reach levels required to provide all homes that currently use natural gas with hydrogen gas. The proposed mandate would require all boilers from 2026 to be hydrogen-ready, irrespective of whether households are likely to receive hydrogen in the future or not.

We wanted to find out what the public’s perception of using hydrogen for home heating is, including their understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of its use to heat homes. Specifically, we wanted to understand whether the potential of hydrogen for home heating reduces uptake of currently available low-carbon heating options..

Our research aims to explore potential effects of the UK Government's proposal, specifically whether the mandate could result in lower uptake of heat pumps.

The UK Government is currently considering whether to introduce a mandate, whereby in 2026 all boilers installed in homes must be “hydrogen-ready”. It has been suggested that this is a “low regret” decision if there are no additional financial costs for consumers when purchasing a hydrogen-ready boiler. This research aims to explore whether there are undesirable backfire effects from introducing hydrogen-ready boilers, specifically by reducing uptake of existing low-carbon heating systems. If we find this is the case, it will indicate that the mandate could slow efforts to decarbonise home heating.

Generating robust evidence on public attitudes towards, and understanding of, hydrogen boilers could be used to inform the decision-making of policymakers developing policy positions on hydrogen for home heating.

Demonstrating the potential adverse effects of consumer confusion and reduced selection of low-carbon heating systems could help inform whether some proposed pathways are appropriate, or how to adapt them to minimise burden and cost to consumers.Importantly, there is already some evidence of adverse effects but it typically is based on qualitative research. Providing robust quantitative data based on a UK-representative sample (of homeowners) would provide an indication of the magnitude of the effect.

In addition to capturing public awareness and attitudes towards hydrogen boilers, we also want to assess whether the option of hydrogen boilers reduces intent to select low-carbon heating systems that provide immediate reductions in carbon emissions (such as heat pumps or other electric heating). We aim to do this using an experimental design, where we present different options to participants in a hypothetical situation in which they need to replace a gas boiler. We will then record participants’ interest in installing different heating systems. Our findings could be used to inform policy on how appliance manufacturers can advertise hydrogen boilers to minimise consumer confusion.

We will use an online survey to access a UK-representative sample, hosted on Predictiv, the Behavioural Insights Team’s online behavioural experimentation platform. We will recruit 5,000 participants, who will be UK homeowners with gas boilers (given the focus on home heating).

The survey will have two objectives.

• Demonstrating the general public’s current understanding of hydrogen-ready boilers and highlighting areas of confusion. This will involve asking participants about the distinction between boilers that can use blends of hydrogen and natural gas versus 100% hydrogen.
• Testing whether information about hydrogen-ready boilers changes the likelihood that participants would opt for low-carbon heating options (in a hypothetical situation where they need to replace their boiler).

We will also use the survey to gather other information about public acceptance or awareness of hydrogen boilers.