Chamber and committees

The Energy Saving Trust publishes information on the typical range of installation costs for heating and micro renewable systems.

Installation costs for these technologies are affected by a variety of factors, including dwelling characteristics, locally available resources (such as proximity to a river) and local availability of suppliers and materials. The fact of a home being on or off the gas network does not in itself affect upfront costs for these technologies. However, the factors that do influence costs tend to be differently distributed between urban and rural areas. For example, the average floor area of rural homes is higher than for urban homes (meaning higher capacity heating systems may be required on average), and transport requirements or weather disruptions can add costs in remote rural and island settings.

We recognise the distinct challenges remote rural and island communities face in the transition to zero emissions heating. Our Heat in Buildings Supply Chain Delivery Plan will include a specific focus on developing local supply chains particularly in our islands and remote communities to help bring costs down. We will set out more details of our approach to decarbonisation in island settings in the forthcoming Islands Energy Strategy.

Through Home Energy Scotland, the Scottish Government funds interest-free loans for homeowners with cashback grants of up to £7,500 for zero emissions heating plus up to £6,000 for energy efficiency measures.

The Energy Saving Trust’s running cost information can be found at:

(a) high heat retention electric heating systems: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/electric-heating/

(b) air source heat pumps: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/air-to-water-heat-pumps/

(c) ground source heat pumps: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/ground-to-water-heat-pumps/

(d1) micro-hydro: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/hydroelectricity/

(d2) micro-wind: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/wind-turbines/