Research has revealed that the UK is significantly behind France and other EU countries in terms of heat pump installations, with only a fraction of the number of installations despite having similar markets. In contrast to the UK’s 55,000 heat pumps sold last year, France recorded over 620,000 installations. The UK also lags behind 20 other European nations in terms of installation rates.
Heat pumps, which operate like reverse fridges and run on electricity, are considered the most efficient solution for the UK’s transition to low-carbon heating, moving away from gas-fired boilers that currently heat the majority of homes. Despite being more expensive to install, heat pumps are cheaper to run than gas boilers, particularly considering the high gas prices. Further improvements in the electricity market could make heat pumps even more cost-effective.
At the current pace, the UK stands little chance of meeting the government’s target of 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028. However, analysts from the MCS Charitable Foundation suggest that achieving this target could create 50,000 new jobs, a significant increase from the current 2,000 jobs in the industry.
The MCS report, titled “Heat Pump Rollout in France and the UK 2023,” recommends several measures for the government to adopt. These include making heat pumps mandatory for all new homes, expanding and scaling up grants for heat pump installation in existing homes, introducing new loan schemes for homeowners, and launching a nationwide awareness campaign to educate the public about heat pumps and the incentives available. The report also emphasizes the need to extend the existing boiler upgrade scheme and establish a clear end-date for the sales of gas boilers by implementing the long-awaited future homes standard from 2025.
David Cowdrey, the director of external affairs at MCS, highlights the missed potential of heat pumps in the UK and emphasizes the need for more comprehensive policy measures to meet the government’s targets. Despite the UK’s heat pump market growing by 40% in 2022, it still lags far behind other countries. For instance, last year, France had 20 heat pumps installed for every 1,000 households compared to the UK’s mere 1.9 installations.
MCS believes that it is not too late for the UK to catch up, citing France’s success in increasing installations by 80% from 90,000 in 2018 to 175,000 in 2019 after implementing a grant scheme available to all households.
To facilitate the transition to clean heating, the UK needs stable and clear policies and regulations. According to Jan Rosenow, the director of European programs at the Regulatory Assistance Project thinktank, a strong policy framework leads to increased consumer demand and industry investment, as demonstrated in other leading heat pump markets around the world. The UK has the potential to become a global leader in clean heating but requires long-term policies to drive demand and support the expansion of the supply chain.
In response to the research, a spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero assured that the government is investing billions in improving energy efficiency nationwide. They also mentioned that over £70 million in vouchers were issued to installers in the first year of the boiler upgrade scheme. The spokesperson expressed confidence in meeting the target of 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028, adding that heat pumps are becoming increasingly affordable compared to gas boilers.
Overall, the findings highlight the urgent need for the UK to accelerate its adoption of heat pumps to catch up with other countries and achieve its low-carbon heating targets.
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