Homes with heat pumps and electric vehicles (EVs) are considered more "energy patriotic" due to their reduced reliance on imported fuels, a think tank has claimed.
Analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) found that households equipped with heat pumps, insulation, and electric vehicles utilize more British energy and consume less than half the imported fuel compared to homes dependent on gas and petrol. ECIU advises that individuals seeking to become "energy patriotic" should support British businesses by replacing gas boilers and petrol cars with cleaner alternatives powered by domestic wind and solar energy.
The think tank also urges the government to assist those unable to afford new technology investments by facilitating contracts for new UK wind farms, ensuring homes can access British energy for a greater portion of their appliance and lighting needs. ECIU's analysis indicates that a typical household reliant on a gas boiler, petrol car, and average electricity consumption imports approximately 70% of its total energy requirements, primarily in the form of gas and oil, amounting to nearly 17 megawatt hours (MWh) annually.
In contrast, a well-insulated home utilizing a heat pump and an electric car consumes significantly less imported energy (45%), approximately 7.5 MWh per year, primarily due to reduced gas consumption for electricity generation. Homes equipped with solar panels would only utilise around a third (36%) of the fuel imports of an average home, at just 6MWh annually, according to the analysis.
ECIU's study focused solely on the use of oil and gas imports, rather than "net imports" which offsets the amount of energy the UK imports against the amount produced and exported. This approach provides a more detailed perspective of the country's dependence on imported fuels.
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Jess Ralston, an energy analyst at ECIU, said: "Those who want to be 'energy patriotic' and buy British homegrown energy should be switching from gas boilers and petrol cars to electric heat pumps and EVs that increasingly run on British wind and solar energy. As North Sea oil and gas output continues its inevitable decline, the dependence on foreign imports for households using boilers and internal combustion cars will only become more stark."
"Generating more British renewable energy and using it to power heat pumps and electric cars would get households, and the UK as a whole, off energy imports and remove the risk of the kind of price volatility we've seen in recent years. The Government has increased the grant for heat pumps, but then cut other policy under intense lobbying pressure from gas boiler manufacturers which likely means fewer heat pumps sold, leaving households and the UK more dependent on foreign gas."
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "Nearly half of all homes in England now have an EPC rating of C or above, up from just 14% in 2010, and we're supporting families make the switch to heat pumps, rather than forcing them, with our £7,500 heat pump grant one of the most generous schemes in Europe."
"At the same time, we're taking the common sense approach to reduce our reliance on imports by backing domestic gas production, which is four times cleaner than liquefied natural gas imports from abroad."
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