Recent data highlights a stark reality in Mendip, where less than one in 100 homes have installed a heat pump, a figure that raises concerns about the Government's progress towards its green targets.

Despite Prime Minister's recent rollback of various environmental commitments, the need for energy-efficient technology like heat pumps remains critical.

MCS, the standards organisation for heat pumps, reports that only 450 such units were installed in Mendip from 2009 to September 2023. This represents just 0.9% of households in the area. Heat pumps, known for their efficiency, function by extracting heat from the outside air or ground and transferring it into buildings. The Government, recognising their potential in reducing carbon emissions, has been offering grants to encourage their adoption.

However, the overall uptake across the UK is lagging. The Government's ambitious target is to install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028. In contrast, MCS figures reveal less than 33,000 installations last year, while separate industry data indicates around 55,000 sales in the UK in 2022.

The MCS spokesperson highlighted the Government's recent decision to increase grants for heat pumps from £5,000 to £7,000 but warned, "uptake would need to increase 'exponentially' to meet the Government's target."

So far this year, less than 26,000 heat pumps have been installed across the UK, with only 62 of these in Mendip homes. This shortfall comes as Rishi Sunak announced a rollback on demands for landlords to improve energy efficiency in rental properties and replace old boilers.

This policy shift could particularly impact private renters, who are already less likely to have key energy efficiency upgrades. Analysis suggests that private renters are the least likely group to have a heat pump or solar panel installed. In the UK, owner-occupied homes are nearly 50% more likely to have these energy-saving measures. In the South West, the numbers are 37 installations per 1,000 owner-occupied homes, compared to 28 per 1,000 in private tenant households.

Greenpeace UK's climate campaigner Georgia Whitaker criticised the announcement, saying, "The pledge to 'never' increase energy efficiency standards for the private rented sector will be worrying thousands, as they remember just how cold they were last winter in badly insulated homes." She described it as "bad news" for private renters already suffering in the cost-of-living crisis.

Echoing these concerns, Stew Horne, head of policy at the Energy Saving Trust, expressed disappointment: "As the climate emergency escalates, now is the time for scaling up ambition and action to provide industry and public confidence and bring down costs." He added, "Now is not the time to backtrack on targets and risk being left behind whilst the rest of the world is making the just transition to net zero."

In response, a spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero stated, "We're investing billions to improve energy efficiency across the country, supporting households switch to low-carbon alternative heating." They highlighted the Government's commitment, noting, "We are supporting property owners and landlords to switch through schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme – which has now received a 50% increase in funding from £5,000 to £7,500 – making it one of the most generous support schemes of its kind in Europe."