Gas boilers to be banned in new-build homes within three years
GAS boilers are set to be banned in all new-build homes within three years, according to reports.
Developers will stop installing them in homes from 2023, two years earlier than first announced.
The move to bring it forward is part of the government's plans to tackle climate change, and help Britain reach its target of net zero emissions by 2050, reports .
When gas is made, it releases carbon emissions into the environment, which in turn contribute towards global warming.
In the future, new homes will instead be required to have low-carbon alternatives, such as electric heat pumps.
When the government first proposed the ban, it acknowledged practical challenges to overcome, such as a target of 300,000 new homes to build a year.
How can I heat my home without a gas boiler?
THERE are a number of different ways to "decarbonise" heating.
One option is scrapping gas boilers and instead using a heat network that pumps hot water and air through pipes to warm homes.
Another idea is to just use electricity to warm homes.
Some households are already electricity-only, using storage heaters instead of radiators to heat their property.
Ofgem said in February it could also look at different ways to making homes electric, such as by using electricity to power heat pumps.
Lastly, gas boilers could be upgraded to work with decarbonised gas, such as hydrogen.
Last year, energy experts told The Sun last year that low-carbon heat pumps and heat networks could add £5,000 to the cost of a new build.
Currently, about 30,000 heat pumps are installed each year, but the government wants to increase this to 600,000 a year by 2028.
Bean Beanland, of the Heat Pump Federation, told The Times: "The industry will have to ramp up production by between 3% to 5% a year to meet the increased demand but that is not unrealistic.
"In the new-build market where homes are more standard, the installation work is quite easy compared to retrofits, so with good designs it can be done by competent plumbers and electricians."
The government's plan also signalled that gas boilers for existing homes would be phased out by 2035, according to The Times.
Although they could be replaced with a "hydrogen ready" boiler that would initially burn natural gas and switch to hydrogen when it became available.
In February this year, Ofgem announced plans that mean gas boilers would have to be ditched from homes or upgraded by 2050.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told The Sun: "We've committed to review the roadmap to the Future Homes Standard to ensure that implementation takes place to the shortest possible timeline.
"We will be publishing the government response to the Future Homes Standard interim uplift consultation as soon as possible.
"This will set out a roadmap to the Future Homes Standard."
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