Official Statistics

DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker: Heat and energy use in the home, Summer 2024, UK

Published 29 October 2024

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The DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker is a nationally representative annual survey of adults (aged 16+) in the UK that tracks public awareness, attitudes and behaviours relating to the policies of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), such as energy and climate change.

This report provides a summary of the headline findings relating to heat and energy use in the home from the Summer 2024 wave of the Tracker, which ran from 11 July to 15 August 2024.

Notes for interpretation of findings

Differences between groups are only reported where they are statistically significant at the 95% confidence interval level.

The annual personal income referred to in the report is a self-reported measure.

The age-related findings are reported using six age groups (16 to 24 years, 25 to 34 years, 35 to 44 years, 45 to 54 years, 55 to 64 years and those age 65 years and over). In some cases, findings across age groups have been combined to describe a general trend. In these situations, a range of the percentages for these combined age groups is provided for reference. For example, ‘Between 78% and 88% of people aged 45 and above’ refers to the range of percentages for the three age groups 45-54, 55-64 and 65+.

Two summary self-reported measures are used in this report:

  • ‘Awareness’ encompasses all respondents who said they had heard of a particular concept or technology, including those who said ‘hardly anything but I’ve heard of this’, ‘a little’, ‘a fair amount’ or ‘a lot’.
  • ‘Knowledge’ encompasses those who said that they know ‘a fair amount’ or ‘a lot’ about a topic.

Awareness of heating changes to meet Net Zero targets

Respondents were presented with the following explanation: ‘In the lead up to 2050, the way we heat almost all of our homes and buildings will need to change in order to reach the UK government’s Net Zero target’.

In Summer 2024, after reading this explanation, 88% of people said they were aware of the need to change the way homes and buildings are heated in order to reach the Net Zero target, up from 86% in Spring 2024, and back to the level observed in Winter 2023 (Figure 4.1).

Knowledge levels have remained broadly stable over time, with 39% saying they knew a lot (11%) or a fair amount (28%) in Summer 2024. Around half (49%) said that they knew a little (33%) or hardly anything (16%) about this.

Figure 4.1: Awareness of the need to change the way homes are heated to reach Net Zero targets in 2050 (based on all people), Autumn 2021 to Summer 2024

HEATHOMEKNOW. In the lead up to 2050, the way we heat almost all of our homes and buildings will need to change in order to reach the UK government’s Net Zero target. Before today, how much if anything did you know about this?

Base: All wave respondents – Autumn 2021 (5,552), Winter 2021 (3,705), Spring 2022 (4,374), Summer 2022 (4,489), Autumn 2022 (4,160), Winter 2022 (3,572), Spring 2023 (4,406), Summer 2023 (3,998), Winter 2023 (3,741), Spring 2024 (4,083), Summer 2024 (3,640) (Asked each wave)

By age, knowledge about Net Zero heating changes (knowing a lot or a fair amount) was highest among those in age groups 55 and over (from 45% to 47%) and lowest for those aged 16-24 (26%).

Knowledge was also higher among people living in owner-occupier households (45%) than those in privately rented households (36%), and social rented households (21%).

Awareness of low-carbon heating systems

Low-carbon heating systems were described to respondents in general terms as ‘…environmentally friendly heating systems which no longer rely on conventional gas central heating but instead use energy from low-carbon alternatives such as hydrogen, the sun, or heat pumps which draw heat from the ground, air or water to heat homes’.

In Summer 2024, 88% of people said they were aware of low-carbon heating systems, which has remained stable over the last five waves (Figure 4.2). The proportion saying they knew a lot or a fair amount (32%) also remained stable, with a steady 9% saying they knew a lot.

Figure 4.2: Awareness of low-carbon heating systems (based on all people), Autumn 2021 to Summer 2024

LOWCARBKNOW. The next question is about low-carbon heating systems. By this we mean environmentally friendly heating systems which no longer rely on conventional gas central heating but instead use energy from low-carbon alternatives such as hydrogen, the sun, or heat pumps which draw heat from the ground, air or water to heat your home. Before today, how much if anything did you know about low-carbon heating systems?

Base: All wave respondents – Autumn 2021 (5,552), Winter 2021 (3,702), Spring 2022 (4,376), Summer 2022 (4,488), Autumn 2022 (4,161), Winter 2022 (3,573), Spring 2023 (4,404), Summer 2023 (4,000), Winter 2023 (3,743), Spring 2024 (4,085), Summer 2024 (3,640) (Asked each wave)

Self-reported knowledge (knowing a lot or a fair amount) about low-carbon heating systems was highest for those in age groups 55 and over (from 38% to 41%) and lowest for those in age groups under 45 (22% to 28%).

By tenure, people living in owner-occupier households (37%) were more likely to say they knew a lot or a fair amount than those in privately rented households (29%), and particularly those in social rented households (18%).

Those that reported knowing a lot or a fair amount about Net Zero heating changes were also more likely to report knowledge of low-carbon heating systems: 70% of those that knew a lot or a fair amount about Net Zero heating changes also reported knowing a lot or a fair amount about low-carbon heating, compared with those who knew at most a little about Net Zero heating changes (10%) and those who were unaware of them (2%).

Further findings on heat and energy in the home

In previous waves, questions were included on other topics relating to heat and energy in the home. The latest findings relating to these topics can be found as follows:

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