Government schemes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), offering £7,500 toward heat pump installation, and the forthcoming Warm Homes Plan, which pledges full funding for low‑income households, are intended to support a fair, greener future. The ECO4 programme already funds installations for vulnerable households.

However, the government’s minimum efficiency requirement, a SCOP of just 2.8, means many recipients of these publicly funded heat pumps will pay around £200 more each year to heat their home than they would with a gas boiler.

EUA argues that this creates a fundamental moral failure in policy design.

“We cannot call a policy ‘green’ if it makes the poorest families pay more for the privilege of decarbonising,” said Mike Foster, CEO of EUA. “It is morally unacceptable to ask low‑income households to shoulder higher running costs in order to meet national climate goals. Fairness must be at the heart of the transition.”

According to the EUA, households only avoid financial harm if installations achieve a SCOP of at least 3.5, or if customers are placed on a dedicated heat‑pump tariff. Currently, neither is guaranteed.

“When public money is used, there is an ethical duty to protect the people receiving it,” Mike Foster added. “A higher minimum efficiency standard or mandatory placement on a heat‑pump tariff is not just a technical detail - it is a moral obligation. Otherwise, these schemes risk turning support into hardship.”

The EUA is also calling for annual service checks to ensure heat pumps continue to operate effectively.

“A heat pump installed at high efficiency but left to deteriorate fails both the household and the taxpayer,” Mr Foster said. “Maintaining performance is part of the moral contract when spending public funds.”

The EUA urges the government to act swiftly to prevent unintended but ethically indefensible financial harm to the very people these schemes aim to support.