NEWS | DIGEST IN BRIEF ASHPs may fall foul of one-size-fits-all noise assessment The main assessment for air source heat pumps (ASHPs) does not account for different levels of background noise, according to new governmentcommissioned research published on 30 November. It says ASHP installations under permitted development (PD) rights could be unnecessarily denied in areas with higher background sound levels because of the one size fits all approach to noise in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme assessment. The research was carried out before the Autumn Statement, when it was announced that PD rules governing heat pump installations would be relaxed. Scotland proposes gas boiler ban after building sales Heat in Buildings Standard would require boilers to be removed after xed period Homeowners and businesses in Scotland could have as little as two years to rip out their fossil fuel heating systems, the Scottish government has announced. A consultation on a proposed Heat in Buildings Standard, published on 28 November, outlines tough new targets for accelerating uptake of energy efciency and low carbon A mix of building types in Aberdeen Another 89 properties sign up to Zero Bills Octopus Energy has teamed up with The Hill Group on the most extensive Zero Bills housing development to date. The energy supplier and housebuilder are collaborating on the 89-home scheme in Newport, Essex, where residents have been guaranteed that they will pay no energy bills for a minimum of five years. Each of the homes will boast solar panels, high-quality insulation, heat pumps, and battery storage. Octopus says it has so far accredited nearly 1,000 Zero Bills homes through contracts with developers. The scheme includes the first Zero Bills affordable-rent homes. heating measures. It conrms that the use of polluting fossil fuel heating systems will be prohibited after 2045. To facilitate this ban, those buying a home or business premises will be required to end their use of polluting heating systems within a xed period following completion of the sale. The consultation proposes a grace period of two to ve years to get the work carried out. The ban on fossil fuel heating will be backed up by the introduction of a new requirement on homeowners to make sure their homes meet a reasonable minimum energy efciency standard (MEES) by 2033. Private landlords will be required to meet this by the earlier date of 2028 because such properties typically have a poorer standard of energy efciency. Owner-occupiers who use electried heating systems or a heat network by 2033 will not be required to meet the MEES. However, private landlords will have to meet the new standards even if they install clean heating systems. Manufacturer heat pump fines cut The government has cut the nes that boiler manufacturers will have to pay if they fail to meet targets in its new scheme to improve delivery of heat pumps. The response to the recently concluded consultation on the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, published on 29 November by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, eases the schemes requirements on manufacturers. Changes include reducing to 3,000 from 5,000 the payment-in-lieu that boiler manufacturers will have to nd for every heat pump they fail to install relative to the number of fossil fuel boilers they sell. The scheme begins operating in 2024, and the mandate will only oblige manufacturers to deliver one heat pump for every 25 boilers they sell. Manufacturers will also have larger allowances to carry forward unmet heat pump installations into the following year. OMICRON Zero Eurovent certified performance First air-source multifunctional heat pump and chiller unit using propane as a near zero GWP, natural refrigerant solution. 8 January 2024 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Jan 24 pp08 News.indd 8 21/12/2023 17:46