Official Statistics

DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker: Heat and energy use in the home, Winter 2025, UK

Published 12 March 2026

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 Winter 2025 wave of the Tracker, which ran from 4 November to 9 December 2025.

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.

Line charts included in this report, based on a longer time series, use abbreviated season names in the x-axis (e.g. Winter 2025 = Win 2025). 

The age-related findings are reported using six age groups (16-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65 and over). In some cases, findings across age groups have been combined to describe a general trend, 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+.

Please note that some of the geographical findings have fluctuated over time. These variations may, in part, be due to the base sizes in specific areas and the wide geographic area covered by regions.

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 they know ‘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’.

Figure 4.1 displays the longer-term trends in overall awareness (had at least heard of it) and knowledge (a lot/fair amount) of the need to change the ways our homes are heated to reach Net Zero (line chart). The chart also displays the detailed awareness and knowledge data for the most recent two waves alongside the baseline (bar chart).

In Winter 2025, overall awareness dropped slightly to 86%, from 88% in Summer 2025. Overall knowledge also dropped to 37%, from 42% in Summer 2025.

Over the longer-term, awareness of the need to change the way homes and buildings are heated to reach the Net Zero target has remained broadly stable at just below nine in ten, albeit with some minor fluctuations.

Following an increase at the start of the tracking series between Autumn 2021 and Winter 2021, levels of knowledge have remained largely stable at around four in ten.

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 Winter 2025

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), Winter 2024 (3,211), Spring 2025 (3,412), Summer 2025 (3,525) Winter 2025 (3,279) (Asked each wave).

Note: On the line chart, arrows denote a significant difference between one wave and the next. For the bar chart, significant differences are noted between Autumn 2021 and Summer 2025, and between Summer 2025 and Winter 2025.

Analysis by subgroups

Self-reported knowledge about the need to change the way homes are heated to reach Net Zero targets was higher among the following subgroups:

• People in age groups 55 and over: between 44% and 45% compared with between 30% and 31% in age groups 16 to 44.
• People who said they knew a lot or a fair amount about Net Zero: 68% compared with 8% of those who knew a little or hardly anything and 2% of those who were not aware of Net Zero.
• People living in owner-occupied homes: 41% vs 30% living in rented accommodation.

Low carbon heating systems

Awareness of specific low carbon heating systems

An annual question in the Winter wave measures awareness and knowledge of different types of low carbon heating systems^{[footnote 1]}. A brief description of each type was provided to respondents as follows:

• Air source heat pumps - these extract heat from the outside air to heat your home and water.
• Ground source heat pumps - these extract heat from pipes buried in the ground to heat your home and water.
• Biomass boilers - these work in a similar way to standard gas boilers to heat your home and water but instead use a renewable material such as wood pellets as fuel.
• Heat networks (also known as communal or district heating) - these take heat from a central source and distribute it to multiple customers in a building or across several buildings.
• Hybrid heat pumps - these combine heat pump and standard gas boiler technology to heat your home and water.
• Hydrogen boilers - these work in a similar way to standard gas boilers to heat your home and water, but use hydrogen rather than natural gas as fuel. This technology is not currently available in the UK.
• Hydrogen-ready boilers - These are designed to use hydrogen in the longer term but are initially constructed to use natural gas to heat your home and water. This technology is not yet available.

Figure 4.2 shows findings for the Winter 2021 baseline and the most recent two waves. Between Winter 2021 and Winter 2024, awareness of air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps and heat networks increased, while awareness of hydrogen and hydrogen-ready boilers decreased. However, results remained more stable between Winter 2024 and Winter 2025.

In Winter 2025, awareness remained highest for air source heat pumps (77%), and ground source heat pumps (72%, down slightly from 74% in Winter 2024).

Awareness of biomass boilers remained stable at 63%. As in previous years, there was lower awareness for heat networks and hybrid heat pumps (both 52%). The lowest awareness was reported for hydrogen boilers (44%), and hydrogen-ready boilers (35%).

Levels of self-reported knowledge (knowing a lot or a fair amount) followed the same trend as awareness, with knowledge ranging from only 5% for hydrogen-ready boilers to 24% for air source heat pumps. The proportion who knew a lot or a fair amount about air source heat pumps (24%) remained higher than in Winter 2021 (20%), but otherwise there has been no sustained increase in knowledge over time for any low carbon heating system.

Figure 4.2: Knowledge about specific low-carbon heating systems (% based on all people), baseline wave (Winter 2021) and two most recent waves (Winter 2024 & Winter 2025)

LCHEATKNOW1-8. How much would you say you know about the following low carbon heating systems?

Base: All wave respondents – Winter 2021/Winter 2024/Winter 2025: Air source heat pumps (3,696/3,209/3,278), Ground source heat pumps (3,693/3,211/3,276), Hybrid heat pumps (3,690/3,208/3,268), Heat networks (3,686/3,728/3,207/3,272), Biomass boilers (3,692/3,209/3,275), Hydrogen boilers (3,694/3,211/3,273), Hydrogen-ready boilers (3,688/3,206/3,273).

Analysis by subgroups

Across all types of low carbon heating, the following general trends were observed.

By age:

• Older people were more likely than younger people to report awareness of air source and ground source heat pumps. For example, awareness of air source heat pumps ranged from 57% for people aged 16 to 24 to 87% for those aged 65 and over.
• There was a similar but smaller age-related difference in awareness of biomass boilers: from 59% of those aged 16 to 24 to 68% of those aged 65 and over.
• Awareness of hybrid heat pumps was lower for people aged 65 and over (46%) compared with those in all younger age groups (between 52% and 57%). There was a similar pattern of difference in self-reported knowledge.

By tenure:

• People living in owner-occupied households were more likely than those in rented households to report awareness of all low carbon heating systems except for heat networks and hybrid heat pumps. For example, 85% of owner-occupiers were aware of air source heat pumps compared with 62% of renters.
• Renters in private housing were more likely than renters in social housing to be aware of all heating systems other than heat networks. For example, 59% of private renters were aware of biomass boilers compared with 43% of social renters.
• In terms of knowledge, people living in owner-occupied households were more likely than those in rented households to report knowing at least a fair amount about air source and ground source heat pumps, biomass boilers and hydrogen-ready boilers. For example, 24% of owner-occupiers said they knew at least a fair amount about ground source heat pumps compared with 12% of renters.

By self-reported knowledge of Net Zero:

• Awareness of all low carbon heating systems was substantially higher for those who reported higher levels of knowledge of Net Zero. For example, 88% of those who felt they knew at least a fair amount about Net Zero were aware of air source heat pumps, compared with 34% of those who had never heard of Net Zero.

Likelihood to install low carbon heating systems

In order to gauge the propensity to adopt low carbon heating systems, respondents were asked if they would consider installing an air source heat pump, ground source heat pump, hybrid heat pump and a biomass boiler, the next time they needed to change their current heating system^{[footnote 2]}.

In Winter 2025, around a quarter of respondents said that a decision around installing a new heating system was not theirs to make (between 25% and 26% by system). This was mainly explained by people renting: around six in ten renters (between 60% and 64% for each type of low-carbon heating system) said that this was not their decision to make compared with between 7% and 8% for people in owner-occupier households. Given the high rate of renters who said these questions were not applicable to them, the findings for this question are based only on people living in owner-occupied households.

While this question is still asked only in Winter waves for hybrid heat pumps and biomass boilers, an adapted shorter version of this question was added from Spring 2025, to allow more frequent tracking of attitudes towards air source and ground source heat pumps. This allows any seasonal differences in attitudes, and any response to publicity or media coverage^{[footnote 3]} to be tracked for air source and ground source heat pumps. Data from the winter waves provide a fully comparable measure of change over the longer term for all four systems. These are discussed over the next two sections of this report.

a) Air source and ground source heat pumps

Figures 4.3 and 4.4 respectively display the likelihood to install air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps, rebased on all owner-occupiers.

In Winter 2025, likelihood to install was highest for air source heat pumps compared to all other low carbon heating systems (22% said they were very or fairly likely to install one or that they already have one). This figure remains unchanged since Summer 2025 (23%, no statistically significant difference) but has decreased since Spring 2025 (26%). Overall likelihood of installing a ground source heat pump was lower at 12%, down from 14% in Summer 2025 and 18% in Spring 2025.

Reluctance to install both types of heat pumps reduced to levels more in line with Winter 2024, following an increase in Spring 2025 and Summer 2025. This indicates a potential seasonal effect as this is the first time questions on heat pumps have been asked in spring and summer waves.

Around a third reported not knowing enough about each system to make a decision (30% for air source and 33% for ground source heat pumps). While this decreased over time between Winter 2021 and Summer 2025, this proportion increased markedly in Winter 2025 for both types of heat pump (from 21% to 30% for air source, and from 22% to 33% for ground source heat pumps). Again, these changes may be due to seasonal effects.

Figure 4.3: Whether likely to install air source heat pumps next time they need to change (% based on people living in owner-occupied accommodation), Winter 2021, Winter 2022, Winter 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2025, Summer 2025, Winter 2025

LCHEATINSTALL1. How likely is it that you would install each of the following heating systems in your home when you next need to change your heating system or boiler: air source heat pumps?

Base: All wave respondents living in owner-occupier households – Winter 2021 (2,738), Winter 2022 (2,566), Winter 2023 (2,681), Winter 2024 (2,476), Spring 2025 (2,622), Summer 2025 (2,788), Winter 2025 (2,480).

Figure 4.4: Whether likely to install ground source heat pumps next time they need to change (% based on people living in owner-occupied accommodation), Winter 2021, Winter 2022, Winter 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2025, Summer 2025, Winter 2025

LCHEATINSTALL2. How likely is it that you would install each of the following heating systems in your home when you next need to change your heating system or boiler: ground source heat pumps?

Base: All wave respondents living in owner-occupier households – Winter 2021 (2,728), Winter 2022 (2,561), Winter 2023 (2,643), Winter 2024 (2,448), Spring 2025 (2,614), Summer 2025 (2,780), Winter 2025 (2,455).

Note: On the line charts (in Figures 4.3 and 4.4), vertical scale has been reduced to 0-80%, and arrows denote a significant difference between one wave and the next. For the bar charts, significant differences are noted between Winter 2021 and Summer 2025, and between Summer 2025 and Winter 2025.

b) Hybrid heat pumps and biomass boilers

Figure 4.5 shows results from the Winter 2021 baseline and the two most recent waves for likelihood to install hybrid heat pumps and biomass boilers. As above, results have been rebased on all owner-occupiers.

In Winter 2025, the proportion of people who had already installed or were likely to install hybrid heat pumps was 14%, a decrease from 17% in Winter 2024.

Similar to other low carbon systems, a substantial minority of people reported not knowing enough about each system to make a decision (38% for hybrid heat pumps, 36% for biomass boilers).

In line with the decline in likelihood to install between Winter 2024 and Winter 2025, there has been an increase in reluctance to install over this period, and this forms part of a longer-term trend since Winter 2021.

Figure 4.5: Whether likely to install hybrid heat pumps and biomass boilers next time they need to change (% based on people living in owner-occupied accommodation), baseline wave (Winter 2021) and two most recent waves (Winter 2024 & Winter 2025)

LCHEATINSTALL3-4. How likely is it that you would install each of the following heating systems in your home when you next need to change your heating system or boiler?

Base: All wave respondents living in owner-occupier households – Winter 2021 / Winter 2024 / Winter 2025: Hybrid heat pumps (2,730/2,440/2,449), Biomass boilers (2,725/2,434/2,452). Note: LCHEATINSTALL3-4 is only asked in winter waves.

Analysis by subgroups for all four systems

The following subgroup trends on likelihood to install all four low carbon heating systems are based on owner-occupiers only. The age-related findings here are based on ages 25 and above due to a low base (< n=100) of owner-occupiers in the 16-24 age group.

By age:

• Across all four systems, people in age groups 55 and over were more reluctant to install a low-carbon heating system. For example, between 49% and 50% of those in age groups 55 and over said they were unlikely to install an air source heat pump, compared with between 33% and 37% of those in age groups from 25 to 54.

By income and financial hardship:

• Across all four systems, people with lower annual personal incomes were more likely to report that the decision was not theirs to make. For example, for air source heat pumps, 15% of those with an income of £0-£14,999 reported that they were unable to make this decision, compared with between 3% and 6% of those in income bands £15,000 and above.
• By financial hardship, a higher proportion of those living comfortably said they would be likely to install an air source heat pump (22%), compared with those finding it difficult to manage (15%).

Barriers to installing low carbon heating systems

Overall, in Winter 2025, 67% of people living in owner-occupier households said that they were unlikely to install at least one of the four different types of low carbon heating systems if they needed to replace their heating system. This is higher than 55% in Winter 2024, a level that had previously remained stable over time.

The subgroup of people who were disinclined to install any low carbon heating system was asked their reasons for this. Figure 4.6 shows findings for the Winter 2021 baseline and the two most recent waves.

The most common barrier remained concern about the cost of installation (51%). Further barriers mentioned by around three in ten of this subgroup included: thinking it would not be feasible to install in their home (36%, down from 41% in Winter 2024), concerns about running costs (35%), a preference to wait to see how the technology develops (34%), contentment with existing system (34%), concerns about performance and efficiency (31%), and a lack of sufficient knowledge (29%).

Figure 4.6: Why unlikely to install specific low-carbon heating systems (% based on owner-occupiers unlikely to install one or more of the low carbon systems), baseline wave (Winter 2021) and two most recent waves (Winter 2024 & Winter 2025)

LCNOWHY. You said you would be unlikely to install the following heating systems in your home […] Why is this? 

Base: All owner occupier households who are unlikely to install one or more of low carbon types of heating in home – Winter 2021 (1,621), Winter 2024 (1,483), Winter 2025 (1,507).

Attitudes towards low carbon heating systems

Respondents were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with six statements about low carbon heating, as shown in Figure 4.7. These findings are based on all respondents, including both owner-occupiers and renters. The chart shows results for the Winter 2021 baseline and the two most recent waves.

In Winter 2025, as in previous years, a high proportion gave a non-opinion response (that is ‘neither agree nor disagree’ and ‘don’t know/don’t have enough information‘). This ranged between 50% and 79%.

Focussing on the proportion who agreed or disagreed with each statement about low carbon heating systems (LCHS):

• 39% agreed that ‘LCHS are expensive to install’ (down from 45% in Winter 2024), while 3% disagreed.
• 17% agreed that ‘LCHS would heat people’s homes better than the conventional systems’ (no change from Winter 2024, up from 15% in Winter 2021), while 15% disagreed.
• 18% agreed that ‘LCHS are cheaper to run than conventional systems’ (down from 21% in Winter 2024), while 11% disagreed.
• 11% agreed that ‘LCHS are less reliable than conventional systems’, while 9% disagreed (down from 12% in Winter 2024).
• 14% agreed that ‘to make LCHS more attractive, conventional systems should be more expensive’, while 36% disagreed (no change from Winter 2024, up from 31% in Winter 2021).
• 29% agreed that ‘I would know where to find reliable information on LCHS’ (no change from Winter 2024, up from 27% in Winter 2022), while 18% disagreed.

Figure 4.7: Attitudes towards low carbon heating systems (LCHS*) (% based on all people), baseline wave (Winter 2021 **) and two most recent waves (Winter 2024 & Winter 2025)

LOWCARBATT1-6. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? 

*NOTE – LCHS is included in full as ‘low-carbon heating systems’ in the questionnaire statements.

Base: All wave respondents: Statements 1-5 – Winter 2021 / Winter 2024 / Winter 2025: expensive to install (3,684/3,203/3,271), would heat people’s homes better than the conventional systems (3,679/3,199/3,266), cheaper to run than conventional systems (3,680/3,203/3,267), less reliable than conventional systems (3,677/3,197/3,262), conventional systems should be more expensive (3,676/3,200/3,260).

**Statement 6 added in 2022, so baseline is Winter 2022 for this statement only: Winter 2022 / Winter 2024 / Winter 2025: I would know where to find reliable information on LHCS (3,551//3,197/3,263).

Analysis by subgroups

Across the statements about low carbon heating systems (LCHS), the following general trends were observed:

By age:

• Older people were more likely than younger people to express attitudes that suggested cost would be a barrier. This trend was observed as follows:
  • Between 44% and 47% of people in age groups 55 and over agreed that LCHS would be expensive to install compared with 23% of those aged 16 to 24.
  • People aged 65 and over were less likely to agree that LCHS would be cheaper to run (12% compared with 24% of those in age groups 25 to 44), although this was also lower for those aged 16 to 24 (14%).
  • People aged 65 and over were less likely to agree that conventional heating systems should increase in price to make LCHS more attractive (7% compared with between 12% and 19% of those in age groups from 16 to 64).
• Older people were less likely than younger people to agree that LCHS would heat people’s homes better than the conventional systems (from 12% of those aged 65 and over to 20% of those in age groups from 16 to 34).
• The youngest and oldest age groups were most likely to respond with ‘don’t know/don’t have enough information’ for five of the six statements (excluding ‘LCHS are expensive to install’). For example: 57% of those aged 16 to 24 and 50% of those aged 65 and over were unsure whether LCHS were cheaper to run compared with between 39% and 44% of those in age groups from 25 to 64.

By tenure:

• People living in owner-occupier households were more likely than renters to agree that LCHS would be expensive to install (46% compared with 25%) and to disagree that conventional heating systems should increase in price to make LCHS more attractive (43% compared with 23%).
• Owner-occupiers were also more likely to feel they know where to find reliable information on LCHS (32% compared with 23%).
• Private renters were more likely than social renters to agree that LCHS would be cheaper to run (22% vs 13%).

By geography:

• People living in the South West were more likely to agree installation would be expensive (48% vs 39% overall).
• People in the East Midlands were more likely to agree LCHS would heat homes better (27% vs 17% overall), and to say they knew where to get information along with those in Scotland (both 34% vs 29% overall).
• People living in the North East were consistently more likely to say they do not have enough information to give an opinion. For example, 53% gave this response in relation to ‘LCHS would heat people’s homes better than the conventional systems’ vs 41% overall. This means that they were also less likely to agree with most statements, other than agreement that LCHS are expensive to install.

Heating and cooling in the home

A question has been asked annually in Winter waves about the main systems people use to heat and cool their homes. In Winter 2025 the question format changed, which means no comparison is possible with previous results^{[footnote 4]}. The results have been weighted to represent all households.

In Winter 2025, three quarters of people (75%) said they used a gas boiler as their main method of heating the home (Figure 4.8). Other primary methods of heating included oil boilers (5%), electric boilers (4%) and electric radiators (3%).

Almost half of households said they used only one source of heating (48%). The most prevalent secondary sources of heating were an electric portable heater (16%), followed by a wood fire/stove (12%) and an electric radiator (9%).

Figure 4.8: Main and other methods of heating home (% based on all households), Winter 2025

HEATMAINNEW. What is the main way in which your household heats your home?

HEATHOMEOTHER. In addition to what you have already mentioned, does your household use any other forms of heating?

Base: All wave respondents: main source/other sources – Winter 2025 (3,253/3,242).

Analysis by subgroups

By tenure:

• Use of gas central heating as a primary source was higher for those living in owner-occupier households (77% vs 70% in rented houses). Owner-occupiers were also more likely to report oil boilers (7% vs 1%), and heat pumps (3% vs 1%) as their main heating source.
• People in owner occupied households were more likely than renters to report using a wood stove (17% vs 1%) or a natural gas stove (7% vs 1%) as a secondary source.
• Those in rented households were more likely to report having only one source of heating (56% vs 45%). This was higher still for social housing renters (61% vs 50% of private renters).
• Among renters, social housing renters were more likely to report communal heating as their main heating source (5% vs 2% of private renters), while private renters were more likely to use electric portable heaters as a secondary source (22% vs 10% of social renters).

By financial hardship:

• There were no differences in main source of heating between those who felt they were living comfortably vs those finding it difficult to manage financially.
• However, those who felt they were living comfortably were more likely than those finding it difficult to manage to report having either a wood stove (15% vs 8%) or a natural gas stove (6% vs 2%) as a secondary source.

Respondents were also asked what methods they use to cool their homes when needed (Figure 4.9). People were most likely to report simply opening windows or doors (80%), with just under half using plug-in fans (47%) and closing curtains or blinds (45%). 5% said they used air conditioning.

Figure 4.9: Methods used to cool home (% based on all households), Winter 2025

COOLMAINNEW. How do you cool your home when you need to?  Please select all that apply.

Base: All wave respondents – Winter 2025 (3,281).

Analysis by subgroups

• There are limited subgroup differences to report on, however people in owner occupied households were more likely than those in rented households to report closing curtains or blinds (49% vs 37%) and having air conditioning (6% vs 3%).

Likelihood to Replace heating systems

Questions are also asked annually, in Winter, about replacing heating systems. In Winter 2025, 13% said that they would consider replacing their system while it was still working (down from 15% in Winter 2024), and 54% (up from 51%) said they would only do so when their current system deteriorates or breaks down (Figure 4.10).

Over the longer term, since the Winter 2021 baseline, there has been a shift away from considering a replacement of a working system (13%, down from 19%) towards replacing it only when it breaks down (54%, up from 50%).

Figure 4.10: Whether would replace heating system while it was still working (% based on all people), Winter 2021 to 2025

REPLACEHEAT. Now thinking about your heating system. Which one of these statements comes closest to your view?

Base: All wave respondents – Winter 2021 (3,702), Winter 2022 (3,570), Winter 2023 (3,739), Winter 2024 (3,209), Winter 2025 (3,278).

Note: On the line chart, arrows denote a significant difference between one wave and the next. For the bar chart, significant differences are noted between Winter 2021 and Winter 2024, and between Winter 2024 and Winter 2025.

Analysis by subgroups

The proportion saying they would replace a working system was higher among the following subgroups:

• People with a degree: 19% vs 8% of those with no qualifications.
• People who pay at least a fair amount of attention to the amount of heat used in the home: 14% vs 2% of those who pay no attention.
• People who felt they were financially managing comfortably: 15% compared with 7% of those who were finding it very difficult.

Those who said they would consider replacing a working heating system (13% of all people) were asked to choose their most important consideration for doing this (Figure 4.11). In Winter 2025, 54% said that their most important consideration would be to save money on heating bills. The second most selected consideration was switching to a more environmentally friendly system (36%).

Over the longer term, there was a spike in being motivated by saving money in Winter 2022, which likely reflects the height of the energy price crisis. This level then fell in Winter 2023 but has been increasing again since. Motivations based on choosing a more environmentally friendly system has followed the reverse trend.

Figure 4.11: Most important consideration in changing heating system (% based on those who would replace their system while it was still working), Winter 2021 to 2025

REPLACEIMP. Which one of these would be the most important consideration in changing your heating system?

Base: All wave respondents who would replace their heating system while it is still working – Winter 2021 (775), Winter 2022 (689), Winter 2023 (662), Winter 2024 (585), Winter 2025 (480).

Note: On the line chart, arrows denote a significant difference between one wave and the next. For the bar chart, significant differences are noted between Winter 2021 and Winter 2024, and between Winter 2024 and Winter 2025.

Trust in heating system installation advice

Respondents were further asked who they would trust to provide advice about which heating system to install in their home^{[footnote 5]}. Figure 4.12 shows the results for the Winter 2021 baseline and for the two most recent waves only.

In Winter 2025, the most trusted source of advice selected by almost half (49%) was based on conducting their own research (for example online searches and reading reviews); this was a new response option added in Winter 2025^{[footnote 6]}. Unchanged from previous years, the next most trusted source of advice was a tradesperson (46%).

Further trusted sources included other GOV.UK information sources (34%, down from 41% in Winter 2024);  energy advice websites and helplines (32%, down from 39%); a low-carbon heating specialist (29%, down from 35%); friends and family (27%); a heating system/boiler manufacturer (27%); and an energy supplier (22%, down from 25%).

Figure 4.12: Who do people trust to provide advice on which heating system to install (% based on all people), baseline wave (Winter 2021) and two most recent waves (Winter 2024 & Winter 2025)

TRUSTHEAT. Which of the following would you trust to provide advice about which heating system to install in your home? Please select all that apply. 

Base: All wave respondents – Winter 2021 (3,706), Winter 2024 (3,213), Winter 2025 (3,279).

Analysis by subgroups

By age:

• People aged 16 to 24 were less likely to conduct their own research (38%) compared with those in age groups 25 and over (between 47% and 59%).
• People in age groups under 45 were more likely than those in age groups over 45 to trust a tradesperson, heating system manufacturer or energy supplier. For example, between 30% and 35% of those in age groups under 45 said they trusted a manufacturer compared with between 19% and 25% of those in age groups 45 and over.
• People in age groups 55 and over were less likely to say they would trust friends and family (23% compared with between 29% and 32% of those in age groups under 55).

By education:

• 63% of those with a degree conducted their own research compared with 23% of those with no qualifications.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)

Questions are asked annually in Winter to assess awareness of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and their ratings. This includes questions to assess their recollection of the recommendations in their home’s EPC, and how useful those recommendations were.

In Winter 2025, 83% of people said they had heard of EPCs, up from 80% in Winter 2024; 44% reported being aware of EPCs but don’t know the exact rating for their home, 16% reported knowing their exact rating for their home, while 22% said they at least had a sense of what it was (Figure 4.13).

These figures all remain higher than the Winter 2021 baseline (76% awareness, 13% knowing the exact rating).

Figure 4.13: Awareness of EPC rating for home (% based on all people), Winter 2021 to 2025

EPCKNOW. Do you know what the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating for your home is?

Base: All wave respondents – Winter 2021 (3,700), Winter 2022 (3,569), Winter 2023 (3,733), Winter 2024 (3,209), Winter 2025 (3,278).

Note: On the line chart, arrows denote a significant difference between one wave and the next. For the bar chart, significant differences are noted between Winter 2021 and Winter 2024, and between Winter 2024 and Winter 2025.

Analysis by subgroups

Knowledge of the exact EPC rating for their home was higher among the following subgroups:

• Owner-occupiers: 19% compared with those in rented accommodation (11%); knowledge was especially low among social housing renters (5%).
• People who paid a lot of attention to the amount of heat used in their home: 18% compared with 10% of those who paid a little or hardly any attention.

Among those aware of EPCs, 32% recalled seeing the section in their home’s EPC that recommends ways to improve energy efficiency (Figure 4.14). This was unchanged from Winter 2024 and remained higher than the Winter 2021 baseline (27%).

When based on all people, 26% said that they were aware of this section of the EPC, with no change since Winter 2024, but remaining above 21% in Winter 2021.

Figure 4.14: Awareness of recommendations section on EPC (% based on those who were aware of EPCs and % based on all people), Winter 2021 to 2025

EPCSEEN. Have you ever seen a section on your Energy Performance Certificate which recommended how you could improve the energy efficiency of your home? NOTE: ‘not sure’ results are not included in the line chart.

Base: All wave respondents aware of EPCs – Winter 2021 (2,963), Winter 2022 (2,835), Winter 2023 (3,093), Winter 2024 (2,759), Winter 2025 (2,822); All wave respondents – Winter 2021 (3,684), Winter 2022 (3,569), Winter 2023 (3,733), Winter 2024 (3,209), Winter 2025 (3,278).

Changes based on EPC Recommendations

Respondents who recalled seeing the section of their EPC on energy efficiency were asked whether they had made large or small changes to their home based on these recommendations. In Winter 2025, 27% of those who had seen the EPC section had made large changes and 41% had made small changes. There was no change on these measures since Winter 2024, but there has been an increase in reports of large changes since the Winter 2021 baseline (from 22% to 27%).

Two in three (65%) said they had made changes (small or large) based on recommendations they had seen. This was unchanged since Winter 2024, but higher than the Winter 2021 baseline (61%).

Where changes had been made, a clarification question was asked to confirm whether people had made the changes directly or partly because of the guidance in their home’s EPC, or if they would have made the changes anyway (Figure 4.15).

Of those who said they had seen the section of their EPC on energy efficiency, 36% said they made these changes based on the EPC’s recommendations, no significant change since Winter 2024. This remained lower than 39% in Winter 2024, but higher than the Winter 2021 baseline (29%).  

Based on all people, this equates to 9% of all people who made changes to their home as a result of seeing the energy efficiency recommendations in their home’s EPC.

Figure 4.15: Percentage who had made any changes to home because of recommendations on EPC (% based on those who had seen the EPC recommendations section, and on all people), Winter 2021 to 2025

EPCIMPROVE. Now think about the recommendations you saw on your Energy Performance Certificate on how you could improve the energy efficiency of your home. Did you make any changes to your home based on these recommendations? Please select all that apply.

EPCDIRECT. And did you make these changes…?

Base: All wave respondents who saw EPC recommendations section – Winter 2021 (854), Winter 2022 (722), Winter 2023 (903), Winter 2024 (894), Winter 2025 (887) / All wave respondents – Winter 2021 (3,706), Winter 2022 (3,569), Winter 2023 (3,733), Winter 2024 (3,209), Winter 2025 (3,278).

Awareness of rental property standards

Since Winter 2022, people have been asked annually how much they know about the minimum energy standards for rental properties^{[footnote 7]}. The chart shows results for the Winter 2022 baseline and the two most recent waves.

In Winter 2025, 53% of people said that they were aware of these standards, with 8% saying they knew a lot or a fair amount (Figure 4.16). Overall awareness was unchanged since Winter 2024 but remains higher than Winter 2022 (47%).

Among renters, 54% said they were aware of minimum energy standards for rental properties, up from 48% in Winter 2024. While just 8% of renters said they knew a lot or a fair amount, this was higher than in Winter 2024 (5%).

Figure 4.16: Awareness of energy efficiency standards in rental properties (% based on all people and % based on all renters), baseline wave (Winter 2022) and two most recent waves (Winter 2024 & Winter 2025)

RENTALSTAND. The next question is on energy standards in rental properties. How much, if anything, do you know about the minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties?

Base: All wave respondents – Winter 2022 (3,519) Winter 2023 (3,682), Winter 2024 (3,187), Winter 2025 (3,261); Renters – Winter 2022 (869), Winter 2023 (857), Winter 2024 (599), Winter 2025 (655).

Analysis by subgroups

Overall awareness was higher among the following subgroups:

• People in age groups from 25 to 64: between 54% and 60% compared with 47% of those aged 65 and over and 45% of those aged 16 to 24.
• People with a degree: 62% compared with 44% of those with no qualifications.
• People living in Yorkshire and the Humber (62%), the North West (60%) and the East of England (59%); in contrast, overall awareness was lowest in the North East (44%) and in the West Midlands (45%).
• Private renters (58% vs 43% of social renters).

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:

• More frequent tracking of awareness and likelihood of installing heat pumps, see Summer 2025 report on heat and energy use in the home – section on ‘Heat Pumps’
• Attitudes towards solar panels in the home, including likelihood to install and what might encourage installation, see Spring 2025 report on heat and energy in the home – section on ‘Attitudes towards solar panels in the home’
• Results from previous questions about the main systems used to heat and cool homes, see Winter 2024 report on heat and energy use in the home – section on ‘Heating and cooling in the home’

1. Since Spring 2025 measures of awareness and likelihood to install each of air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps have been tracked every wave. A link to the latest findings is included at the end of this report. ↩

2. Results throughout this section are weighted by individual. In practice, the differences between weighting these results by individual or by household are minor and do not change the narrative of the results. ↩

3. For example, the fieldwork period in Spring 2025 followed a DESNZ heat pump campaign in England and Wales called ‘Feel All Warm and Fuzzy Inside’ (6th March 2025), which aimed to increase heat pump adoption and applications for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. ↩

4. Previously respondents were asked about the main method of heating their home. In Winter 2025, this was replaced by two questions on main source and additional sources of heating the home. Respondents are still asked about main sources of cooling the home. However, the list of heating sources and cooling sources has been updated. ↩

5. There were a number of changes to the answer list in Winter 2023, with the ‘Simple Energy Advice website or similar website’ replaced by ‘Energy advice websites or helplines e.g., “Find Ways to Save Energy in Your Home”’, and ‘Gov.uk’ replaced with ‘any other Gov.uk source’. A new response option of ‘conducting my own research’ was added in Winter 2025 following open-ended responses in Winter 2024. Due to these changes, results for these have not been compared with earlier results. ↩

6. Based on analysis ‘other’ responses in Winter 2024, when 2% of respondents gave this answer spontaneously, the code ‘Conducting my own research (for example, online searches, reading reviews’) was added as a response in Winter 2025. ↩

7. Additional data collected in Spring 2022 is not included in this report to allow for a clearer annual comparison of Winter waves only. Spring 2022 data is included in the Winter 2023 report. ↩