The estimates
- Sefton 5.62%
- Wirral 4.88%
- Halton 3.35%
- St Helens 2.96%
- Knowsley 2.21%
- Liverpool (comparison) 15.65%
DESNZ sub-national estimates of properties not connected to the gas network, 2024. Liverpool is a comparison row.
The five boroughs range from 2.21% to 5.62%. Liverpool's 15.65% is several times higher, which shows how different the city's housing is from the boroughs around it. In the five, an off-gas home is the exception on almost every street.
What heats them instead
| Borough | No gas meter | Electric only | LPG only | Oil only | Heat network only |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sefton | 5.62% | 5.4% | 0.46% | 0.24% | 0.41% |
| Wirral | 4.88% | 4.8% | 0.34% | 0.17% | 0.47% |
| Halton | 3.35% | 4.5% | 0.41% | 0.23% | 0.36% |
| St Helens | 2.96% | 3.7% | 0.38% | 0.23% | 0.42% |
| Knowsley | 2.21% | 4.2% | 0.86% | 0.20% | 0.32% |
Electric heating is by far the largest group: between 3.7% and 5.4% of households used it alone in 2021. Oil and LPG together were the only heating for 3,131 households across the five, and heat networks for 1,929. The two measures are not the same: one counts properties without a gas meter, the other households by the fuel they use.
Electric-heated homes
A home heated by storage heaters or electric radiators pays the full price of electricity for every unit of heat. A heat pump delivers several units of heat for each unit of electricity it uses, so for these homes the running-cost case is usually strongest. The work can be bigger, though. A home without radiators needs pipes and emitters fitted, and a small flat may only suit an air-to-air system, which heats rooms but not water and is not covered by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Electric-heated homes that take an air-to-water heat pump get the standard £7,500 band.
Oil and LPG homes
The few oil- and LPG-heated homes in the five boroughs are the only ones that can get the higher £9,000 Boiler Upgrade Scheme band, until 31 March 2027. The conditions are strict. Ofgem's guidance treats a home as off the gas grid only if it is not fuelled by mains gas, has no record of a gas meter point, is not on a heat network and is not a new build. A capped or clamped gas meter counts as mains gas. The installer's application has to be properly made by 31 March 2027.
Heat networks
Homes on a district or communal heat network share a heat source, usually in a block of flats. The household does not control the plant, and Ofgem's off-gas definition for the higher band excludes homes attached to a heat network. Any change is for whoever owns or runs the network.
Sefton, the borough with most
Sefton has the highest off-gas share of the five and the largest groups of electric-only households (5.4%) and purpose-built flats (13.6%). Its off-gas homes are likely to be electric-heated flats and houses rather than oil-heated cottages. Sefton is also the borough where the council's own Retrofit Team runs the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which lists air source heat pumps among its measures for privately owned homes rated D or below.
Checking your own home
- Is there a gas meter, or an old capped one, anywhere on the property? If so, it is not off-gas for the higher band.
- What does the heating run on now: electricity, LPG, oil, a heat network, or nothing?
- Are there radiators, or would a wet system need fitting?
- Who owns the building, if it is a flat, and would they agree to an outdoor unit?
If the answers point to an electric-heated home with radiators, the standard grant and an air-to-water heat pump are the usual route; if there are no radiators, ask about the cost of fitting them before you compare quotes.