Lewes Goodbye Gas Fund

Aim: Retrofit a single Lewes District family Council house with a heat pump, electric cooking facilities and cover the cost of gas meter removal.

I'm frequently maddened that we’ve got so much of the technology to put the breaks on climate change but we’re just not deploying it nearly quick enough! I wondered how I could do something tangible to turbocharge the energy transition in our local area and arrived at the Lewes Goodbye Gas Fund.

The aim, to start with, is to raise funds to retrofit a single Lewes District family Council house with a heat pump, electric oven and induction hob as well as cover the cost of removing the gas meter. This would provide a Lewes family who wouldn't usually have the means: lower bills and a year-round heating and cooling solution for the years ahead, all while significantly reducing carbon emissions. 

We would work alongside and feed into Lewes District Council’s ongoing efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions in Lewes District's Council housing.

This crowdfunder is to test the waters. Is there an appetite for us to do the necessary work to adapt to, and fight, climate breakdown ourselves rather than waiting for the painfully slow government to get round to it?

If there is a positive response I’d love to scale up the project, set up a charity, and help loads more households who want to transition away from gas to do so as fast as possible. Small monthly donations spread across the tens of thousands of climate-concerned people across Lewes District would get the job done in no time. If it falls flat, it’s back to the drawing board!

The need to bid farewell to gas

Heating the UK’s 28 million homes accounts for about 18% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions and cooking with gas a further 2%. The Climate Change Committee (CCC) says we cannot reach net zero if we continue to use gas for heating and cooking. But fewer than 1% of UK homes have a heat pump today and the uptake is slow. We lag behind the likes of Norway (60%), Sweden (43%) and Finland (41%). The CCC says the UK needs to be at nearly 10% of all homes by 2030 to be on track for the 2050 net zero target.

Ed Miliband is busy cleaning up the electricity grid but we could be in a situation where the UK has 100% clean energy in the 2030s yet is still woefully dependent on gas for heating and cooking. Time to get on with the job!

Heat pumps are amazing technology

Heat pumps tend to be cheaper to run and are a brilliant combination of climate mitigation (reducing emissions) and climate adaptation (preparing for what’s to come). They produce far less emissions which is great but, perhaps more importantly, they are used for both heating and cooling, maintaining year-round comfort for the heat pump owner that will allow them to weather any intense heatwaves or cold snaps on the horizon. Climate mitigation AND climate adaptation AND lower bills, what’s not to like? 

Gas hobs and ovens are a smaller part of the picture but contribute to household emissions nonetheless. Induction hobs are much more efficient than gas and don’t have the risks of a naked flame and pollutants like carbon monoxide. 

The barriers to adoption

Unfortunately there are barriers to getting this amazing technology rolled out at pace. Heat pumps are expensive to retrofit even with the £7,500 government grant. There is some upheaval too. Other than the unit itself, new radiators and a water tank may need to be installed. Households pay on average around £5,700 on top of the government grant to get everything done. This is compared to between £2,500 to £4,000 for a new combi boiler including installation.

Replacing a gas oven and hob with an electric system is generally straightforward but still has a cost and requires professional installation.  

Our target

The target is £6,500 to cover one gas-ridding retrofit: the installation of a heat pump, electric oven, induction hob as well as gas meter removal. This would allow a Lewes family in a Council house to bid farewell to gas and start enjoying lower bills and year-round consistent indoor temperatures, boosting their climate resilience. 

Generous, green-minded (and did I mention good-looking!) people of Lewes District please consider donating to this crowdfunder. If you’ve ever felt like you want to do more for the climate fight but don’t know what tangible actions you can take, look no further. Please consider donating and help to drive the energy transition right here in Lewes whilst lowering the cost of living and building climate resilience for poorer residents in our local area. 

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 25th September 2025 at 9:15am