The UK Government is being urged to back a campaign to get oil-heated homes in Cumbria to switch to heating their homes with cooking oil.

It is thought this would reduce carbon emissions quickly and easily by switching to ‘renewable’ liquid fuel made from used cooking oil.

This call comes from OFTEC, a trade organisation for the heating and cooking industries of the UK and Ireland, who said 14,000 oil-heated houses in Cumbria could benefit.

It followed a two-year project which saw the village of Kehelland in Cornwall switch from kerosene to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).

17 homes, as well as the local church and school, participated in the scheme.

The project was part of a larger demonstration covering 150 premises across the UK, with Kehelland being a blueprint for rural communities across Cumbria to make the switch.

Converting each oil boiler to HVO took a few hours with an estimated cost of around £500 per property.

As a result, emissions were immediately reduced by 88 per cent, OFTEC said.

OFTEC claims that the fuel is sustainably sourced and there is more than enough supply to meet demand.

The results follow the publication of the government’s heat and buildings strategy which put forward proposals to end the installation of fossil fuel boilers in the home from 2026.

In most cases, households would be expected to switch to a heat pump when their boiler is replaced.

The government has yet to publish its response to the consultation.

Paul Rose and Ken Cronin, CEOs at OFTEC and UKIFDA, said: “This successful project demonstrates how renewable liquid fuels can offer a low cost, undisruptive and simple route to greener heating for rural homes on oil and could be replicated across Cumbria.

“We all want to play our part in reducing our carbon emissions, but in the current cost of living crisis there is no appetite from consumers to foot the bill.

“That’s why we launched our pioneering project to demonstrate there is an alternative solution.

“We’re calling for the government to amend its energy bill to mirror for home heating the current scheme in place for HVO use in transport, which would greatly reduce the cost of HVO for oil users to support a transition to the greener fuel.

“We urge the 14,000 oil households in Cumbria to write to their MP to back the campaign.”