New research has found that up to £8m has been spent on heat pump planning permission applications by households in Great Britain, despite a majority being approved.
Nesta collected this data with its custom in-house AI tool, which it built to access nearly 20,000 online planning permission applications in England, Wales and Scotland. It then analysed their outcomes.
The UK government has set out its ambition to install 450,000 heat pumps annually by 2030 to meet its climate goals, but so far only around 300,000 households have one installed. Data from Octopus Energy found that roughly a third of households installing a heat pump are affected by planning rules, which usually delay the process by weeks and occasionally months.
Nesta’s findings suggested that roughly £3-4m has been spent on residential planning applications for heat pumps. It also found that a further £2-4m has been spent on specialist sound assessments over the last 10 years. But over 80% of these applications are approved, including for listed buildings or those in protected areas, which do not automatically qualify for permitted development rights (PDR).
The government has announced a summer consultation to explore changes to permitted development rights to make it easier for households to install a heat pump. Nesta suggested that extending permitted development rights to Grade II listed buildings would help thousands of applications clear through the system more quickly and at a lower cost.
In addition, Nesta said that developing a cheaper alternative to the expensive BS4142 sound tests could be a way to lower costs for heat pump applicants. For example, installers in France use a web app developed by the French Heat Pump Association to predict sound levels at no extra cost.
Katy King, director of Nesta’s sustainable future mission, said: “A significant proportion of people who want to get a heat pump are being forced to spend their valuable money and time on lengthy planning processes. Most applications are approved, so this raises questions about whether some people have wasted time and money having to go through the process and whether it can be streamlined to only require applications where they are absolutely necessary.
“The government could extend permitted development rights, revisit the need for in person sound assessments and waive application costs so that people aren’t put off unnecessarily when making the switch from fossil fuel heating. This would save consumers time and money, while ultimately accelerating UK home decarbonisation.”
One heat pump owner, Fay, had to submit planning permission for her installation.
She added: “The application process was tedious and when submitting my application, I didn’t know how long it would take to go through, so that was a worry. If I hadn’t been able to do it myself then I probably wouldn’t have bothered getting a heat pump as the additional cost of engaging someone to do the application for me would have put me off. It should be easier for people to install them.”