“Decarbonising home heating represents one of the biggest challenges to the government achieving net zero,” was a conclusion of the recent National Audit Office report ‘Decarbonising home heating’.
The facts, the report states clearly in the opening are: 18% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 were from home heating and 55,000 heat pumps were sold in the UK in 2022.
decarbonizing home heating
Crucial to decarbonizing home heating is the government’s ambitious goal to install 600,000 heat pumps annually by 2028 – just four years away. To achieve this, installations need to increase 11-fold on current levels.
To foster the uptake of heat pumps several actions can be taken including rebalancing the cost of electricity and gas, training more installers to meet demand, and generating more awareness of heat pumps by consumers.
Rebalance the cost of electricity and gas
In fact, from April 2024, gas prices were capped at 6p/kWh while electricity prices were capped at 24p/kWh
In the UK, the wholesale price of electricity is pegged to an expensive source of energy - gas. This means electricity prices are artificially inflated by the price of gas despite more and more of the country’s electricity being generated from renewables.
In fact, from April 2024, gas prices were capped at 6p/kWh while electricity prices were capped at 24p/kWh.
Decoupling the price of electricity
There is an imbalance of social and environmental levies which are loaded onto electricity bills. These add an average of £131 to a customer’s annual electricity bill, compared to just £34 for the average annual gas bill, meaning that the cost of running a heat pump is artificially high compared to a gas boiler.
This can be addressed by rebalancing the cost of electricity with a more progressive and environmentally conscious distribution of levies and by de-coupling the price of electricity from the price of gas. This would make electricity more affordable, which is particularly relevant at a time when the cost of living is causing huge strain across the UK.
Growing the green economy
It would also move household energy requirements away from fossil fuels and volatile oil and gas prices, back UK energy security as the nation moves to renewable energy sources, and help to grow the green economy and employment in the UK.
In the long term, the removal of levies on electricity bills would help to balance these costs. In the short term, the Heat Pump Associations’ call for a Domestic Heat Pump Tariff Discount would reduce the price of electricity used for hot water and heating produced by a domestic heat pump.
Train heating engineers
We need 33,700 full-time heat pump installers in the UK to support the government’s ambitions
Improving upskilling, capacity building, and infrastructure investment is also required to provide the number of heat pump installers needed to meet the government’s annual target. Significant progress has already been made in training heat pump installers.
In 2023, close to 8,000 individuals became qualified heat pump installers – compared to just under 3,000 in 2022. The Heat Pump Association estimates that we need 33,700 full-time heat pump installers in the UK to support the government’s ambitions for heat pump uptake.
Heat Pump Training Grant
We are currently at around 11,000 so we must continue the upward trajectory of the last few years to meet this goal. The government’s Heat Pump Training Grant is supporting this effort by offering £500 towards the cost of training to become a heat pump installer.
Beyond this, support for building the UK’s capacity and capability to manufacture heat pumps and their components is vital to be able to meet demand as it increases in the future.
Building skills as heat pump engineers
Our heat pump manufacturing facility in Livingston, Scotland, already employs some 1,800 people in green jobs and supplies heat pumps for installation across Britain and export to the rest of Europe.
As of this year, in addition to our training facility in Hatfield for installers to build their skills as heat pump engineers, we have added new centers in Livingston and Manchester, and are planning for more. We are also proudly working with colleges, supporting them as they take on young people to learn skills in renewable energy.
Increase consumer awareness
Ipsos revealed that over 70% of consumers still know little to nothing about how heat pump technology works
To increase the uptake of heat pumps, consumer awareness needs to be raised. Research commissioned by Ipsos revealed that over 70% of consumers still know little to nothing about how heat pump technology works.
This means that educating consumers on the importance of heat pump technology will also be crucial to encouraging wider uptake. Greater awareness of the benefits of heat pumps, driven by the government, media, and organizations within the heat pump industry, will ultimately accelerate adoption, help decarbonize home heating, and help us hit the all-important net zero goal.
Getting to net zero calls for a heat pump boost
It is well documented that heat pump uptake needs to grow, or we risk missing our climate goals. The technology to help us achieve this already exists in the form of heat pumps.
However, steps must be taken to raise awareness about their potential and benefits, reduce their running cost by rebalancing electricity and gas prices, and ensure there are enough trained heat pump installers to meet demand as it increases.