Sussex homeowners can now attend free community webinars on solar panels and heat pumps, as reported by SussexWorld. The sessions, run by a local community energy group, aim to demystify the technologies that could cut household carbon emissions by up to 80%. But knowledge alone does not pay the installer.
Why information is not enough
The UK’s heat pump rollout remains glacial. Ofgem data shows just 55,000 heat pumps were installed under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in the 18 months to June 2024, a fraction of the 600,000 per year the Climate Change Committee says are needed by 2028. The gap between intention and action is not a knowledge gap. It is a cost gap.
A typical air-source heat pump installation runs £7,000–£14,000, depending on house size and existing radiator system. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers £7,500 from October 2024. That still leaves a householder looking at £4,500–£6,500 out of pocket, before any upgrade to radiators or hot water cylinder. Solar panels add another £5,000–£8,000 for a 4 kW system. Free webinars tell you what to buy, not how to afford it.
Yet the EPC payoff is substantial. Energy Saving Trust modelling shows a 3-bed semi going from EPC band D (56–68) to band C (69–80) with a heat pump and solar PV. A band E property can jump to band D. That matters when the minimum energy-efficiency standard for rented homes rises to band C in 2028, and when mortgage lenders increasingly offer green discounts for higher-rated homes.
Who qualifies, and who doesn’t
The Sussex webinars are open to all, but the real question is who can act on the advice. Households on standard variable tariffs pay roughly £1,800 a year for gas and electricity under the October 2024 price cap. A heat pump could halve that gas bill, but the upfront saving takes 8–12 years to recover. For cash-strapped families, that payback period is too long.
Grants are income-linked in Scotland and Wales, but England’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme is flat-rate. No means-testing, no extra help for low-income homes. The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme does fund full heat pump installations for households on certain benefits, but ECO4 installations have been slow, with Ofgem reporting just 12,000 completed in 2023. The catch is that ECO4 requires the home to have an EPC rating of D or below, and the installer must be approved. Many households in the ‘able-to-pay’ middle are left paying full price.
What a typical 3-bed semi actually needs
Take a 1970s semi in Horsham, gas boiler, loft insulation at 150 mm, single-glazed in part. The EPC is likely D. A heat pump will need the radiators upsized to run at lower flow temperatures, another £1,500–£3,000. Solar panels on the south-facing roof could generate 3,500 kWh a year, covering roughly 60% of the household’s electricity use. The combined bill saving? About £700 a year at current prices. The total upfront cost? Around £17,000 before the £7,500 grant. That is £9,500 net, with a payback of 13 years.
The webinar will tell you this. It will not tell you that many installers are booked 8–12 weeks ahead, or that MCS-certified heat pump engineers are scarce in some postcodes. It will not tell you that the grid connection for a solar export tariff (Smart Export Guarantee) can take six weeks. Free advice is necessary. It is not sufficient.
What this misses is a coordinated national retrofit programme, the kind the Labour government has promised through its Warm Homes Plan, but which has no detailed delivery timeline yet. Until grant levels match real installation costs and installer capacity scales, free webinars will remain a talking shop for the already-motivated.
Households considering solar or heat pumps should attend the webinars, but they should also check their EPC, get three quotes, and apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme before the 2025–26 budget allocation runs out. Applications open through Ofgem’s portal. The window closes when the money does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Typically yes. Heat pumps run at lower flow temperatures (35–45°C) than gas boilers (60–70°C), so existing radiators may be undersized. A heating engineer will calculate whether your current radiators can deliver enough heat. Upsizing costs £1,500–£3,000 for a 3-bed semi.
Yes, but you may need to improve insulation first. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not require a minimum EPC rating, but some installers will insist on loft and cavity-wall insulation before quoting. ECO4 grants require an EPC of D or below to qualify for a fully funded heat pump.
