Experts warn of heat pump installation issues leaving engineers divided
An army of heating engineers will be needed to meet the government's targets of 600,000 heat pump installations every year by 2028
A new report reveals that heating engineers are split on whether they'll actually be installing heat pumps in their customers' homes. There's been so much buzz and conversation around heat pumps vs gas boilers this year, particularly when the government announced grants to encourage homeowners to make the shift to greener energy.
Provided you have a well-insulated home that's got enough space, these eco-friendly home heating devices are something to seriously consider when the time comes to replace your boiler. So why are experts warning of issues around heat pump installation?
Heat pump installation issues
Heat solutions provider Baxi Heating says that the transition to low carbon heating is at a tipping point due to a combination of factors: training costs, lack of consumer demand, and excess paperwork. 'Installers will play an important role as we decarbonise the nation’s heating,' says Karen Boswell, Managing Director of Baxi UK & Ireland.
'It will be vital that the government and industry support them with the right information, incentives and training.' Karen Boswell explains that installers will need to be advocates for low carbon sources of heat and recommend to the nation’s homeowners that they make the leap.
While homeowners want to learn how to save energy at home and make their homes more sustainable, Karen says that we will need to address their concerns, support them with training, and explain more clearly the financial and non-financial benefits of these appliances.
In its report, Baxi discovered that just under a third of the UK's heating engineers are prepared to embrace heat pumps in the near future. However, there's a clear division as another 30% said they were extremely unlikely to install them.
The government's target is 600,000 heat pump installations every year by 2028. That is ten times the current market and would need an army of low-carbon heating installers to be helping homeowners, encouraging them to make the change.
Get the Ideal Home Newsletter
Sign up to our newsletter for style and decor inspiration, house makeovers, project advice and more.
As it stands, training costs are a sticking point – heating engineers currently pay the full cost of training and forgo work in order to receive heat pump training. Unsurprisingly, 39% said they would be more likely to install heat pumps if they received help with training costs.
On top of this, 56% of installers said customer demand needed to be addressed and 38% of installers are concerned about a lack of government support for the market. The current Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which pays a maximum £5,000 grant to support air source heat pump installations will be ending in 2025.
Millie Hurst was Senior Content Editor at Ideal Home from 2020-2022, and is now Section Editor at Homes & Gardens. Before stepping into the world of interiors, she worked as a Senior SEO Editor for News UK in both London and New York. You can usually find her looking up trending terms and finding real-life budget makeovers our readers love. Millie came up with the website's daily dupes article which gives readers ways to curate a stylish home for less.
-
Can you paint paving slabs? Yes, but experts have issued a warning for those looking to try this DIY project at home
You can do it… but you need to do it right
By Lauren Bradbury
-
A simple DIY lighting hack made this hallway look so much more expensive
It's all in those tiny details
By Laurie Davidson
-
The popular Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ is on sale in Amazon's Spring Deal Days
Grilling has never been so easy
By Rebecca Knight