Why scepticism about low-carbon technologies is holding us back

Speakers and panellists from the housing sector came together to explore the challenges facing Wales’ journey to create low-carbon homes across Wales - and address the barriers standing in our way, as well as the actions needed to unlock change at pace and scale.

Contributors on the day included Sara Elias from Nesta Cymru, Jo Ullah from Powys County Council, Abigail Ward from Energy Savings Trust, Simon Minett from Challoch Energy and Steve Cranston from Tai Ar y Cyd, among others. Together, they kept returning to four key themes:

• Building trust

• Working together

• Community-led solutions

• Policy and affordability

Let’s take a closer look at some of the ideas behind these themes...

Building trust in new technologies

A strong theme across the day was public scepticism of low-carbon technologies - especially heat pumps.

After all, we can’t expect people to make big financial decisions about technologies they don’t fully understand. Without clear information and visible examples, trust will remain fragile - and many households will simply stick with what they already know. They need to become part of the ‘norm’, rather than the exception.

Practical ideas included providing opportunities for people to see heat pump systems working in real homes and talk directly to householders, while also communicating with people about the link between fuel poverty and low-carbon technologies so people understand the positive financial implications they can bring.

Abigail Ward from the Energy Savings Trust argued for a ‘twin-track’ approach - to ensure people can see the link between tackling fuel poverty and decarbonisation.

Meanwhile, Sara Elias from Nesta Cymru stressed the importance of familiarising people with heat pumps. She said, “Awareness varies a lot, but we need to normalise heat pumps rather than making them the exception and something that people fear.”

Jo Ullah from Powys County Council added “The key is to inform people about what happens to their homes and health when they can’t or don’t heat their home properly.”

The importance of working together

Speakers agreed that converting our housing stock across Wales to low-carbon, isn’t a ‘single organisation job’. It will require coordinated effort across the whole housing system.

There were calls for:

• House builders, supply chains, social landlords and industry to work together on systematic change, not isolated schemes.

• A clear and consistent set of guidelines for all new house builders, whether in the social or commercial sector - so standards and approaches don’t vary from project to project.

• A push to off-site manufacturing and modern construction methods which offer better control and precision, as well as economic and social benefits.

• Investment in skills and training, particularly around the installation and maintenance of heat pumps.

Simon Minett from Challoch Energy said: “If we keep working in silos, delivering one small project after another, we’ll miss the systemic change we need. So, for me, collaboration is absolutely key."

Community-led initiatives help avoid ‘one-size-fits-all' approaches

Our speakers also stressed that low-carbon options will look very different from place to place.

Terraced streets, rural villages and urban estates all face different realities, social contexts and building restrictions. So, the solutions that work in one community won’t automatically translate to another.

To address this, there was interest in pilot schemes for:

• Shared or community energy systems

• Local heat networks

• Approaches that look at whole streets or neighbourhoods rather than individual homes in isolation.

What to do when policy stands in the way

Speakers on the housing day also warned that before we can roll out low-carbon technologies in homes across Wales, unless we address the policy and cost barriers remain unchanged. Three issues came up repeatedly:

• Electricity prices - with current levies making low-carbon heating less competitive than gas.

• Planning complications - rules around heat pumps in particular can block installations in many homes.

• Eligibility for funding - particularly for households in lower EPC bands who need support the most.

So, what happens next?

The evidence gathered from discussions during the conference will be collated and used to shape the policies needed to accelerate progress towards a greener, fairer and more prosperous Wales, where warm, low-carbon homes are the norm - not the exception.

If you’d like to catch up on sessions from day one of Wales Climate Week 2025, you can do so here.