OCTOPUS ENERGY REPORTS RECORD HEAT PUMP SALES IN JULY

Octopus Energy recorded its biggest-ever month for heat pump sales in July, with purchases up 71 per cent year-on-year. The energy company said it marked the sixth consecutive month of growth in heat pump installations. Demand for the government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme grants also rose, with applications up 19 per cent year-on-year according to figures from regulator Ofgem. Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product and marketing officer at Octopus, said the company had "never seen demand like this".

Octopus customers on the company's Cosy tariff save an average of £227 a year compared with households using gas boilers, according to data from the company's performance dashboard. The firm reported that 94 per cent of its heat pumps are cheaper to run than gas boilers at current rates. Installation costs average £3,000 to replace an oil boiler and £4,000 to replace a gas boiler with a heat pump. The government offers grants of £7,500 to replace a gas boiler and £9,000 to replace an oil or liquefied petroleum gas boiler; since the £9,000 grant was introduced in April, Octopus said it had seen almost three times as many customers switch from oil and LPG systems.

The Climate Change Committee has stated that households could save hundreds of pounds annually by switching to heat pumps and electric vehicles, but warned that electrification is not occurring quickly enough to deliver potential bill savings and emissions reductions. Ofgem recorded that grants worth £233.1 million supported 31,104 low-carbon heating system installations in the previous year under the scheme, which launched in May 2022.