In response to the Scottish Government’s request for input on its Heat in Buildings Bill, members of the Centre for Energy Ethics, Scottish Research Alliance for Energy, Homes, and Livelihoods, and the University of St Andrews submitted feedback on opportunities for the Government to further hone its proposals. The Bill aims to improve the heat efficiency of buildings in Scotland by making them better insulated and by transitioning them away from fossil fuel sources of heat. The feedback provided to the Government included the following points:
- District heat networks offer the most efficient and cost-effective solution for transitioning away from fossil fuel heating systems.
- The Government can bolster public trust in, and adoption of, low emissions heating by defining a standard bundle of tested technologies and investing in technical education programmes for the installation and maintenance of these technologies.
- There is an opportunity to take a systemic approach to retrofitting and to improve the Government’s list of required energy efficiency measures.
- Financial pathways to decarbonising heat in buildings could include means-tested one-time energy efficiency standard grants to cover the cost of upgrading for first-time home buyers.
- Lowering electricity prices, by reforming wholesale electricity price setting, will be vital to the timely and equitable electrification of heat.
Read the full 10 page policy submission.
