Energy crisis – Brits think high prices here to stay, and heat pumps/EVs route to energy independence

"In the week that parliament will vote on the UK’s carbon targets for the 2040s, it’s clear that British people are voting with their feet with surges of interest in net zero technologies like solar panels, EVs and heat pumps.
 
“Reaching net zero emissions is scientifically the only way to stop climate change, but by switching away from burning oil and gas, homes also unplug from volatile international oil and gas markets that have left both homes and businesses paying huge sums for their energy in the past few years. Those that have already made the switch to a heat pump or electric car clearly think it’s benefitting them at a time of another oil and gas crisis. But those who haven’t don’t necessarily realise the savings that can be made. There’s a real plugged-in perception gap.
 
“By the 2040s there will still be second-hand petrol cars to buy, but there should also be millions of new and second-hand EVs that will be cheaper to buy and run and aren’t susceptible to swings in oil markets.
 
“If as a country we haven’t made significant progress in installing heat pumps and pushing car makers to sell more EVs, given North Sea oil and gas output has been and will continue to decline because it’s a mature basin, the UK will be even more dependent on the whims of foreign powers to heat British homes and keep us on the road. What other realistic options are there?
 
“This puts rumours of the government watering down of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate in a new perspective. It’s not just about saving drivers money in a cost-of-living crisis in the short-term, but about the UK’s future security.”
 
The IMF has previously warned that the UK has been left especially exposed to price volatility as a result of its high level of dependence on gas for electricity generation and home heating [4]. Around half the gas the UK uses today is imported – a figure that is set to rise as output from the North Sea, a mature basin with around 90% of the oil and gas having already been extracted [5], continues its inevitable decline. In contrast, electric heat pumps and cars increasingly run off British renewable energy as the country’s wind and solar capacity continues to expand.
 
Growing numbers of Brits are turning to electric heat pumps and electric vehicles to shield themselves from the economic fallout of the war in Iran, which sent petrol prices soaring and is due to see household energy bills rise on July 1st when the Energy Price cap is lifted. The UK’s biggest energy supplier, Octopus Energy, has reported that heat pump orders more than doubled in March compared to February [6] and applications for the Government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme have risen strongly since the start of the policy, although scrapping the Energy Company Obligation has impacted overall numbers of heat pump installs under Government schemes [7]. Electric Vehicle sales now account for around 1 in 4 car sales in the UK, with the AA citing “pump anxiety”, driven by rising petrol and diesel prices, as being behind soaring levels of consumer interest in EVs following the beginning of hostilities between Iran and the US [8].
 
Owners of electric heat pumps and EVs demonstrate high levels of satisfaction, with industry data showing that heat pump users in the UK report higher satisfaction levels than any other type of heating system [9]. Evidence also suggests that 91% of EV drivers would never go back to a petrol or diesel car [10].
 
In other countries heat pumps are also seen more as improving a country’s energy independence than not: Germany (50% agree vs. 16% disagree), France (54% vs 8%), Poland (45% vs 18%), Spain, (44% vs 9%), and Italy (44% vs 13%).