Scottish Climate Survey: main findings

Home energy and heat decarbonisation

This chapter explores the perceived affordability of households’ energy bills, which energy efficiency measures homeowners had installed and any perceived barriers to installing these in future. It also outlines whether homeowners had installed or were planning to install clean and renewable heating systems and the perceived barriers to doing so. Finally, it looks at heat pump owners’ motivations for installing a heat pump and the impacts they believe this to have had. 

Key findings:

• a third of households (33%) were finding it difficult to afford their energy bills

• more than four in ten households (42%) said they were having to cut back spending on food and other essentials as a result of the need to spend more on energy bills

• most households – 83% - had insulation installed in their home, with loft insulation being the most commonly installed type

• the main perceived barriers to installing wall or floor insulation were cost and concerns about the installation being too disruptive

• ownership of clean and renewable heating systems was uncommon, with less than 5% of households reporting they had a heat pump installed at home

• among those planning to install such a system in future, households were more likely to say they were planning to install a heat pump than an electric heating system

• cost and a lack of interest were the main barriers given to installing a heat pump

• just under six in ten respondents who had installed a heat pump (59%) said their home was warmer and almost half (49%) reported that they had saved money on energy bills. However, 18% said their home was colder and 25% said their energy bills had increased as a result

Affordability of energy bills 

A third (33%) of respondents who were responsible for paying their household’s energy bills said they were finding it difficult to keep up with these payments, while 37% said they were finding it easy. Around one in three (29%) were finding it neither easy nor difficult (Figure 7.1). 

Figure 7.1: Affordability of energy bills 

Q. How easy or difficult is it for your household to keep up with your energy bills nowadays?

Base: All households online (2,256)

Those more likely than average to be finding it difficult to afford their energy bills included: renters (51%), households with an income of less than £26,000 (49%, compared to 33% overall), those living in the most deprived areas (49% in SIMD 1 areas), and disabled people (46%). 

More than four in ten households (42%) agreed they were having to cut back spending on food and other essentials as a result of the need to spend more on energy bills, including around two in ten (18%) who strongly agreed they were having to do this (Figure 7.2). 

Figure 7.2: Cutting back on other spending as a result of energy bills

Q. My household is cutting back how much we spend on food and/or other essentials because of the need to spend more on energy bills

Base: All households (3,441)

The groups most likely to be cutting back how much they spent on food and/or other essentials were broadly in line with those finding it difficult to pay their energy bills, including: those in the most deprived areas (63% in SIMD 1 areas, compared to 42% overall), renters (55%), households with an income of less than £26,000 (54%) and those with a disability (54%). 

Energy efficiency measures 

Among households that owned outright or were buying their property with a mortgage[1], a majority (83%) said they had wall, floor and / or loft insulation installed in their home.

Loft insulation was the most commonly installed type of insulation. Over three quarters of households (77%) that owned outright or who were buying their property with a mortgage had this installed in their home, including 39% who had installed this after they moved in. Four in ten (43%) had cavity wall insulation, including 20% who had installed it after they moved in. Smaller proportions had solid wall (22%) or floor insulation (20%) (Figure 7.3). 

Reflecting the relative difficulty of determining whether or not these types of insulation had been installed, households were more likely to say they did not know if they had wall or floor insulation (or that they had not heard of it), in comparison to loft insulation. A quarter (24%) said this about solid wall insulation, 20% about floor insulation and 12% about cavity wall insulation, in comparison to 2% about loft insulation. 

Figure 7.3: Types of insulation in the home

Q. Which of the following, if any, do you have or are you planning to install in your home?

Base: All households that own home / buying home with a mortgage: Loft (2,611), Solid wall (2,422), Cavity wall (2,483), Floor insulation (2,439)

Rural households were more likely to have wall, floor and/or loft insulation installed in their home (92%, compared to 81% of urban households). Those living in houses were more likely to have loft and wall insulation installed in comparison to those in flats or apartments.

The main barriers households that did not already have wall or floor insulation installed reported to installing these were cost (mentioned by 36%), and concerns about the installation being too disruptive (23%) (Figure 7.4). Other barriers included not being sure how to go about installing it (17%), that it was not possible to install this type of insulation at the property (17%) and no interest in doing so (15%).

Figure 7.4: Barriers to installing insulation

Q. What, if anything, stops you from installing wall or floor insulation in your home?

Base: All who are planning to / not planning to install solid wall, cavity wall or floor insulation (1,210)

Clean and renewable heating systems

Awareness and ownership of clean and renewable heating systems

A large majority of respondents (88%) had heard of electric heating systems, such as storage heaters and underfloor heating (Figure 7.5). Awareness of other clean and renewable heating systems was lower – 61% had heard of air source heat pumps and 53% had heard of ground source heat pumps, while fewer (24%) had heard of district or shared heat networks.

Figure 7.5: Awareness of clean and renewable heating systems

Q. Before today, which of the following heating systems had you heard of?

Base: All respondents (3,457)

As shown in Figure 7.6, awareness of air or ground source heat pumps or of district heat networks was higher than average among those living in rural areas, those living in detached houses, owner occupiers, those living in less deprived areas (SIMD 3, 4 or 5), graduates, those who knew at least a fair amount about climate change, men and white respondents.

Figure 7.6: Groups more likely to be aware of clean and renewable heating systems

Q. Before today, which of the following heating systems had you heard of?

Air source heat pumps

Ground source heat pumps

District or shared heat networks

Base: All respondents (3,457)

Among households that owned outright or were buying their property with a mortgage[2] ownership of clean and renewable heating systems was fairly uncommon: 15% had an electric heating system (including 6% who had installed it after they moved in), 3% had installed an air source heat pump (including 2% who had installed it after they moved in), while just one per cent of households had a ground source heat pump (Figure 7.7).

While a majority said they had no intention of installing a clean and renewable heating system in the future, households who were planning to install one showed a greater inclination towards installing heat pumps in the future than electric heating systems, with 11% saying they are planning to install an air source heat pump and 5% a ground source heat pump, while 4% were planning to install an electric heating system.

Figure 7.7: Ownership of clean and renewable heating systems

Q. Which of the following heating systems, if any, do you have or are you planning to install in your home?

Base: All households that own home / buying home with a mortgage who have heard of heating system: Electric heating systems (2,393); Air source heat pump (1,962); Ground source heat pumps (1,729)

Those living in rural areas or detached properties were more likely than average to have an air source heat pump installed (11% and 6%, compared to 3% overall). Among those more likely than average to be planning to install an air source heat pump were higher income households (£52,000 and above) (15%, compared to 11% overall), householders aged under 55 (14%), graduates (14%) and those with at least a fair amount of knowledge about climate change (14%).

Householders living in a flat or apartment were more likely than average to be planning to install an electric heating system (7%, compared to 4% overall).

Prevalence of clean and renewable heating systems and insulation among friends, family or colleagues

Respondents were asked how common it was for people they know (friends, family or work colleagues) to have installed insulation or a heat pump at home, or for them to be connected to a district or shared heat network.

More than half (55%) said it was common for people they know to have wall, floor or loft insulation. Much smaller proportions said it was common for them to have installed a heat pump (5%) or to be connected to a district heat network (3%). However, at least a quarter of respondents did not know if their friends, family or work colleagues had insulation (24%) or a heat pump (29%) installed or if they were connected to a district heat network (38%) (Figure 7.8).

Figure 7.8: Installation of clean and renewable heating systems and insulation among others

Q. As far as you know, how common is it for your friends, family or work colleagues to have done the following to their home?

Base: All households online (2,346)

Respondents who said it was common for people they knew to have installed a heat pump were also much more likely to have installed one in their own home than those who didn’t know people who had installed one. Almost one in five (17%) of those who said it was common for people they knew to have done this had installed a heat pump in their home after they moved in, while only 2% of those who said it was uncommon among people they knew had done this.

Similarly, respondents who said it was common for people they knew to have installed insulation were more likely to have done this themselves than those who said it was uncommon. Half (52%) of this group had installed wall, floor or loft insulation in their home since moving in, compared to 39% who said this was uncommon among people they knew.

Those living in rural areas and young people aged 16 to 34 were more likely than average to say it was common for people they knew to have installed a heat pump (12% and 9% respectively, compared to 5% overall). Connection to a district heat network was also more common among younger respondents’ social circles (6% among 16- to 34-year-olds, compared to 3% overall).

Barriers to installing a heat pump

Cost was the main barrier perceived to installing a heat pump, cited by more than half of respondents (55%) who did not have a heat pump installed at home. A quarter (25%) said they were not interested in installing a heat pump. Around one in five said they did not know what the best option would be for their home (20%), that they thought installation would be too disruptive (19%), a heat pump was not suitable for their property (18%) or people they knew had had bad experiences of installing a heat pump (17%) (Figure 7.9).

Figure 7.9: Barriers to installing a heat pump

Q. What, if anything, is currently stopping you from installing a heat pump in your home? Please select up to three

Base: All households planning to / not planning to install a heat pump (1,282)

Lack of interest in installing a heat pump was higher among those who thought climate change was not a problem or not happening (55%), low-income households (32%), non-graduates (31%), and those aged over 55 (30%), compared to 25% overall.

Motivations for installing a heat pump

Householders who had installed or were planning to install a heat pump were asked what had got them interested in doing so. As shown in Figure 7.10, this was most commonly as a result of hearing or reading about heat pumps in the media or on social media, mentioned by almost half (47%). Others had received information provided by an energy advice service (26%) or knew someone who had installed a heat pump (22%).

Figure 7.10: Interest in installing a heat pump

Q. What got you interested in the idea of installing a heat pump in your home? Please select all that apply

Base: All who have installed / planning to install a heat pump (346)

Urban households were more likely than rural to say they heard or read about heat pumps in the media (53%, compared to 34%), while rural households were more likely to have received information provided by an energy advice service (33%, compared to 23% in urban households).

Environmental and financial motivations were the main reasons for installing or planning to install a heat pump. Over three quarters of households (77%) cited environmental reasons, while 58% mentioned saving money on energy bills (Figure 7.11).

Figure 7.11: Reasons for installing a heat pump

[1] Questions about the ownership and installation of insulation were only asked to respondents who owned their property outright or were buying it with a mortgage.

[2] Questions about the ownership and installation of heating systems were only asked to respondents who owned their property outright or were buying it with a mortgage.