Gas heating in new build houses will be banned by 2025, but gas hobs will still be allowed, according to Chancellor Philip Hammond.
New homes will use heat pumps and energy-efficient measures to heat them. This leads to the natural question: why are specialists nonetheless suggesting that tradespeople take the gas specialization route?
Admirable environmental goal
Skills Training Group explains that even the Government’s own Spring Statement summary shies away from explicitly stating there will be a fossil fuel ban. Rather, their wording commits to ‘future-proofing new build homes with low carbon heating and levels of energy efficiency.’ Also, the ‘ban’ on gas heating is only applicable to new builds, and that it will not be retroactive – retrofitting of the entire gas grid is prohibitively expensive and thus will not be considered.
Right now, clean electricity is at least four times more expensive than gas – so while it serves as an admirable environmental goal, clean electricity is simply not a viable alternative to gas for heating the homes of the working class and the rest of us who can’t afford expensive power. All of this leads to the inevitable conclusion that the existing generation of gas boilers on the gas grid today will remain largely in use and will require installation and servicing for decades to come.
Implementation of new systems
The new generation of heating engineers will be at the forefront of these changes"
Mark McShane, Managing Director at Skills Training Group, commented: “Although natural gas boilers will eventually be banned, we're not quite there yet. Today in the UK, 23 million homes remain connected to the gas grid. The boilers, pipes, and other gas infrastructure that provide heat to these homes will require continuous service, maintenance, upgrades, and installation for many decades to come.”
“That said, the discussed transitions are upon us, and alternative methods of heating and energy production are gaining momentum. The new generation of heating engineers will be at the forefront of these changes, with all the expertise to help carry out new infrastructure setup and facilitate the implementation of new systems. This adds even more security to the industry as a rewarding career choice.”
Removing outdated systems
“The technical skills, knowledge, and on-the-job work experience of these tradespeople will remain highly in-demand now and into the future, both for new forms of clean gas and for alternative energy and related skills industries. In addition to this, it will be the skilled workforce of gas engineers that will be carrying out the decarbonization process in the first place – removing outdated systems, upgrading old ones, and installing new, cleaner ones.”
“It’s important to note that new technologies like air source heat pumps and hydrogen (gas) boilers will still need to be fitted by qualified heating engineers, so the need for heating engineers isn't going to be any less, it's just going to be different technologies. In fact, you could make an argument that there will be even more work due to these new technologies being implemented.”