We’ve just published our second report into the state of the heat pump market in the UK and, whilst there are still barriers to the mass-market adoption of heat pumps that we need to get anywhere near our legally-binding net zero targets, there were also a few pleasant surprises.
The report, titled: ‘Heat Pumps: Accelerating the Switch’ shows that, firstly, 80% of homeowners surveyed care about climate change, despite what a certain President, or any other climate sceptic may say or think.
I for one don’t want to chance my children’s future and would rather believe the climate scientists, when they say that we need to do all we can to mitigate man’s impact on the climate.
Having trained engineers for over a decade, I’d say most are about 93% ready to fit heat pumps
Ben Bartle-Ross Technical trainer at Mitsubishi Electric
Cheaper electricity = more heat pumps
Secondly, a third of homeowners would seriously consider switching to heat pumps if there was more parity in the prices of electricity and gas.
Research by Dr Ed Manderson, Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of Manchester, reveals a 7% fall in electricity prices (equivalent to a 10-point drop in the price index) would lead to about a 9% rise in domestic heat pump installations.
The same trend appears in the commercial market: rebalancing electricity prices could boost uptake by around 9%, of which the true effect across the whole market would likely be considerably larger.
The research reveals a critical tipping point in public sentiment, with the desire to reduce emissions being outweighed by the reality of energy bills.
Our report concludes that if we are to bring about considerable reform in how we heat our buildings in the UK, then we must look at reforming an electricity pricing system that disproportionately penalises those who opt for low-carbon alternatives.
Heat pump ready
The other thing about the report that I found pleasing is that both residential and commercial heating installers feel that they are ready to help accelerate the shift away from gas towards heat pumps.
A staggering 93% believe they already have the skills and experience to install heat pumps, which is an increase from 61% reported in last year’s report.
Having trained heating engineers and air conditioning engineers on heat pumps for over a decade now, I would say that each group is probably about 93% ready, as there are nuances and subtle differences in how the technologies are designed, applied and operated.
It’s easy to cover that 7% shortfall though and much of our own learning is online and something that engineers can conduct in their own time. If you’d like to know more and book a training course, please click on the link.
Time to hit the accelerator
In last year’s report, we questioned whether there was a shortfall in qualified engineers to fit the amount of heat pumps needed, but this year’s report shows that there really is a ‘heat pump engineer on every street – they just happen to be called a gas engineer at the moment’.
So, whilst recruitment is a challenge in every engineering sector, one of the major barriers is not as insurmountable as previously thought.
The report concludes by calling for urgent action to remove the cost barriers holding back heat pump adoption. This includes:
- Shifting green levies away from electricity to reflect the UK’s net zero goals. Current levies add £140 to electricity bills, but just £50 to gas, making heat pumps more expensive to run than gas boilers.
- Decoupling electricity from volatile gas prices
- Expanding and promoting financial support schemes
Let’s hope our politicians are listening!
You can read this fascinating report yourself by downloading a copy yourself
Ben Bartle-Ross is a technical trainer at Mitsubishi Electric
