Our work spanned 12 weeks, we engaged with stakeholders from across the decarbonisation sector, speaking to those involved in the delivery of low-carbon heat. Initially, we asked for comments and responses to four key questions.
- How can we incentivise the appropriate low-carbon heating tech for the appropriate home? Are there other technologies that should be included in the boiler upgrade scheme?
- How do we ensure that any grant is contributing to an equitable transition?
- How should a scheme be delivered? Is the current method of delivery fit for purpose?
- How should a grant be structured, what is the appropriate level of funding, and where should the money come from?
We received responses from across the home decarbonisation sector, these formed the basis of a workshop. This allowed us to convene groups of stakeholders to discuss the initial responses to the online consultation and build a more in-depth understanding of the difficulties facing those looking to deliver subsidy schemes. The workshop also acted as an opportunity to consider how subsidies may have to evolve in different future scenarios.
Figure 1. A summary of contributors who were engaged as part of this project.
This early engagement with stakeholders gave us an understanding of the main challenges around the delivery of BUS and other decarbonisation subsidies. We then ran a series of semi-structured interviews with heat pump engineers (n=3) and households(n=5) to sense-check these challenges, and to understand them from their point of view. These interviews aimed to bring those ultimately involved in the delivery and purchasing of low-carbon heat to comment on what we’d heard from others. Future phases of this work may look to build a more robust qualitative approach. These interviews also allowed us to present possible future scenarios and speculative solutions to get an initial gauge of how they may be received. Some of these speculative solutions can be found in our recommendations and concepts.
