Scottish heat upgrade plan labelled a ‘time bomb’

Scottish Government plans that could give the country’s homeowners and businesses two years to rip out their fossil fuel heating systems have been branded a “time bomb” by the opposition Conservatives.

A consultation on a proposed Heat and Buildings Bill, outlines a swathe of tough new targets for accelerating uptake of energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures north of the border.

It confirms that the use of “polluting” fossil fuel heating systems will be prohibited after 2045.

To facilitate this ban, those purchasing a home or business premises will be required to end their use of polluting heating systems within an fixed period following completion of the sale.

The consultation from the Scottish Nationalist Party/Green government proposes a grace period for having the work carried out, which it suggests could be two to five years.

This ban will be backed up by the introduction of a new law requiring homeowners to make sure that their homes meet a reasonable minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES) by 2033.

Private landlords will be required to meet this MEES by the earlier date of 2028 because these properties typically have a poorer standard of energy efficiency, says the consultation.

Homes could meet the proposed Heat in Buildings Standard, if they meet a checklist of improvements, which could include 270mm loft insulation, draught-proofing and heating controls.

The other measures on the checklist are insulation for cavity walls, hot water cylinders and suspended floors.

Owner occupiers, who are using electrified heating systems or a heat network by 2033, will not be required to meet the MEES as they will have already removed all direct emissions associated with their building.

However private landlords will have to meet the new standards even if they have installed clean heating systems and could be barred from letting out their properties if they fail to do so.

The Heat in Buildings Standard would kick in once the proposed legislation has been approved by the Scottish Parliament.

The consultation paper justifies the tough new measures on the grounds that the current rate of switching to clean heating is “far short” of what is needed to reach Scotland’s climate change targets. At the current pace of uptake, it would take “several hundred years” to reach net zero, it says.

Exemptions from the new standards will be given to those experiencing fuel or child poverty as well as the elderly and disabled and those on low incomes, it says.

However responding for the opposition Scottish Conservatives, Miles Briggs MSP, said: “This will mark the start of a 10-year time bomb for more than half of Scotland’s home owners. SNP and Green ministers have come to the chamber today with a timescale but not a plan for how they will achieve what they have set out.

“There is nothing in the statement today to provide reassurances that SNP and Green ministers understand the true costs that will face homeowners the length and breadth of Scotland. Estimates have suggested that it may cost more than £30,000 to achieve the minimum energy efficiency standards in a rural property for example.”

The publication of the new heat in building proposals follows the release of figures earlier this week by the Liberal Democrats showing that only 215 private rented homes have been upgraded under a Scottish government energy efficiency and low carbon heat scheme introduced three years ago.