The table
The census publishes its heating results for every ward. These are Liverpool's 30 wards as they stood in 2022, sorted by the share of households heated by electricity alone. Shares are worked out from the household counts. The ward counts are adjusted slightly by ONS to protect confidentiality, so together they add up to 207,495, a handful more than the city total.
| Ward | Households | Electric only | Mains gas only | Heat network | Renewable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | 7,204 | 49.5% | 36.7% | 1.3% | 0.24% |
| Riverside | 11,423 | 35.5% | 51.9% | 0.9% | 0.27% |
| Kirkdale | 8,603 | 19.3% | 67.2% | 0.7% | 0.29% |
| Princes Park | 8,243 | 15.8% | 68.2% | 1.0% | 0.19% |
| Everton | 7,821 | 11.1% | 75.7% | 0.9% | 0.27% |
| Greenbank | 5,658 | 10.0% | 77.6% | 0.7% | 0.28% |
| Picton | 7,436 | 9.1% | 74.0% | 0.9% | 0.16% |
| Kensington and Fairfield | 7,116 | 9.0% | 74.2% | 0.8% | 0.20% |
| St Michael's | 6,284 | 8.9% | 79.7% | 0.8% | 0.22% |
| Woolton | 6,150 | 8.7% | 82.2% | 0.5% | 0.24% |
| Warbreck | 6,532 | 6.8% | 82.2% | 0.2% | 0.09% |
| Speke-Garston | 9,347 | 6.0% | 81.0% | 0.5% | 0.49% |
| Tuebrook and Stoneycroft | 7,036 | 5.8% | 78.7% | 0.2% | 0.26% |
| Mossley Hill | 5,298 | 5.5% | 85.2% | 0.3% | 0.23% |
| Anfield | 6,485 | 5.3% | 80.9% | 0.1% | 0.23% |
| Old Swan | 7,096 | 5.3% | 81.9% | 0.6% | 0.13% |
| Allerton and Hunts Cross | 6,436 | 5.1% | 86.5% | 0.2% | 0.28% |
| Wavertree | 6,302 | 5.1% | 83.8% | 0.3% | 0.25% |
| County | 6,354 | 4.9% | 80.2% | 0.4% | 0.24% |
| Church | 5,664 | 4.7% | 86.7% | 0.2% | 0.32% |
| Cressington | 6,420 | 4.4% | 85.4% | 0.4% | 0.23% |
| Knotty Ash | 6,152 | 4.4% | 83.9% | 0.5% | 0.28% |
| Yew Tree | 7,067 | 4.1% | 83.6% | 0.4% | 0.33% |
| Norris Green | 7,878 | 4.1% | 83.9% | 0.3% | 0.41% |
| Croxteth | 5,989 | 3.5% | 84.6% | 0.7% | 0.25% |
| Belle Vale | 6,872 | 3.2% | 84.4% | 0.6% | 0.61% |
| West Derby | 5,961 | 2.9% | 87.3% | 0.3% | 0.37% |
| Fazakerley | 6,852 | 2.8% | 84.8% | 0.4% | 0.25% |
| Clubmoor | 6,645 | 2.5% | 86.1% | 0.1% | 0.24% |
| Childwall | 5,171 | 1.5% | 89.8% | 0.2% | 0.19% |
Two cities in one table
Most of the table looks like the city average or a little above it on gas: in 20 of the 30 wards, at least eight households in ten used mains gas alone. Childwall, at 89.8%, was the highest. In these wards a heat pump will usually be replacing a gas boiler.
A handful of wards are different. Central stands out: 49.5% of its households used electric heating alone and only 36.7% used gas alone. Riverside (35.5% electric), Kirkdale (19.3%) and Princes Park (15.8%) follow. For many households in those wards, a heat pump would replace storage or panel heaters rather than a boiler, and where the home is a flat, the rules for blocks of flats on the terraces and flats page come first.
Heat networks and renewables
District and communal heat networks were small everywhere, at no more than about one household in a hundred in any ward; Central had the largest share, 1.3%. Renewable heating, the census heading that covers heat pumps, was below one per cent in every ward. Belle Vale had the highest share at 0.61%, followed by Speke-Garston (0.49%) and Norris Green (0.41%).
What to take from it
- In the gas-heavy wards, the comparison for a heat pump is with a gas boiler: running cost on your tariff, the cylinder and the radiators.
- In the electric-heavy wards, the comparison is with storage or panel heaters, and for a flat, the 0.6 cubic metre limit and the freeholder's consent come into it.
- Everywhere, renewable heating was rare in 2021, so a heat pump on most streets would be among the first.
The ward tells you about the area, not about your home. The street check, the planning rules and the installer's survey decide what works at a particular address.