Heat Pump Association

welcomes New Vice Chair  

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) is proud to announce  Mark Wilkins, Training and Technologies Director at Vaillant Group UK, as the organisation’s new Vice Chair, taking on the post with immediate effect.    

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) is proud to announce  Mark Wilkins, Training and Technologies Director at Vaillant Group UK, as the organisation’s new Vice Chair, taking on the post with immediate effect. With a proven track record of leadership in the industry, Mark brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, reinforcing the HPA’s commitment to advancing the deployment of heat pump technology and promoting their use within the UK.

As the HPA continues to be at the forefront of driving instrumental change in the sector, Mark Wilkins alongside newly appointed HPA Chair, Craig Dolan will play a pivotal role in shaping the association’s strategic direction and advocating change on behalf of the wider HPA’s membership.

Upon being elected as Vice Chair, Mark Wilkins shared his excitement, saying, “I am honoured to take on this role within the Heat Pump Association. Heat pumps are a key technology for reducing carbon emissions and enhancing energy efficiency. I look forward to collaborating with industry leaders and the HPA membership to continue the journey to make heat pumps accessible to all.”

Craig Dolan, Chair of the Heat Pump Association, expressed enthusiasm about the new appointment, stating, “We are delighted to welcome Mark Wilkins to the HPA’s leadership. Mark’s wealth of experience and industry knowledge  will be invaluable in supporting the HPA’s strategic objectives and policy design and positioning as we continue to focus on the role heat pumps will play in decarbonising heat.”

Charlotte Lee, CEO of the Heat Pump Association, echoed these sentiments, saying, “The need to decarbonise heat is unquestionable, and heat pumps have a large and vital role in that journey. I look forward to working with Mark and drawing on his experience to advance the associations goals and driving the deployment of heat pumps for more a sustainable future.”

HPA Media Enquiries

Olivia Smalley, Head of Policy and Communications

media@heat-pumps-old.local  

 HPA urges Government to firm up commitment to phasing out fossil fuel boilers

Industry has today warned that the 2035 phase-out of fossil fuel boilers must become a firm commitment rather than an “ambition” to avoid further damage to investor, installer and consumer confidence following the Prime Minister’s announcements (20/09/23) on decarbonising home heating. 

Reacting to the Government’s policy changes, Charlotte Lee, Chief Executive of the Heat Pump Association, said: 

 “The Government has once again moved the goalposts for heat decarbonisation in the UK, and this risks damaging investor, installer and consumer confidence in this space unless this re-confirmed end date for fossil fuel boilers is strengthened from being an “ambition” to being a firm commitment.  

 The delay is yet another blow to the heating industry’s confidence in Government policy as Industry – including boiler manufacturers, has invested in good faith in manufacturing facilities, training and innovation to support heat pump deployment in keeping with the Government’s election manifesto and Heat and Buildings Strategy Commitments – particularly in line with the now abandoned end-date of 2026 for fossil fuel boilers off the gas grid.  

 Moreover, introducing and justifying possible exemptions by suggesting that many homes are not suitable for a heat pump is not supported by the most recent findings of Government-funded heat pump field trials. Consumers and installers may now adopt a damaging “wait and see” approach based on incorrect information, thereby delaying the inevitable transition to decarbonising heat. 

 Whilst we are pleased that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant has been increased, the current budget will now only support 20,000 heat pumps per year, just 3% of the 600,000 ambition for 2028. We urge the Government to take steps to increase this budget to allow all those who wish to install a heat pump to benefit from the grant.  

 We call upon the government to take swift action to reassure the heat pump market– by making the 2035 end date for fossil fuel boilers a firm commitment, by introducing the Future Homes and Buildings Standards in 2025 for new build, by increasing the budget available for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and to take urgent action to reduce the price of electricity relative to fossil fuels.”

Notes to Editors:

1. On 20/9/23 the Prime Minister made several statements relating to decarbonising home heating. Of particular relevance to the heat pump industry were:  

a. Delay the ban on installing oil and LPG boilers, and new coal heating, for off-gas-grid homes to 2035, instead of phasing them out from 2026. This is 7 years later than recommended by the Committee on Climate Change for off-gas-grid, and 2 years later for gas. 

i. The Government claims many of these homes are not suitable for heat pumps, citing that some will need to spend £10-15,000 on upgrading their homes in just three years’ time, and the Prime Minister suggested on the Today Programme on 21/9/23 that some upgrades needed to a home for it to be compatible with a heat pump could be as high as £25,000.

ii. However, these claims are contrary to the findings of a Government-funded trial of 742 heat pumps across a wide area from July 2020 to October 2021, following which a Government Minister’s own statement directly contradicts the Prime Minister’s claims yesterday: 

“Heat pumps powered by clean, renewable energy will be key to warming UK homes in a net zero future. 

“This trial demonstrates that low-carbon heating systems are an effective alternative for homes of all types and ages. As technology continues to improve and costs plummet over the next decade, they will become the obvious, affordable choice for consumers.” 

Energy and Growth Minister, Lord Callanan

iii. The compatibility of all homes with correctly specified heat pumps was confirmed as recently as July 2023 by the expert panel “POST” group Parliamentary briefing, which concluded: 

“Heat pumps are technically suitable for most UK homes if installed appropriately.” 

 b. Set an exemption to the phase out of fossil fuel boilers in 2035, so that households who will struggle most to make the switch to heat pumps or other low-carbon alternatives won’t have to do so. This is expected to cover about a fifth of homes, including off-gas-grid homes – those that will need expensive retrofitting or a very large electricity connection. 

i. The Government has not published any evidence to support this 1/5th assertion. The Heat Pump Association will engage with the Government to understand this in further detail. 

ii. The detailed criteria for these exemptions will be critical both for reaching net zero, and for the heat pump industry, because any lifeline for fossil fuel boilers beyond a firm end date will create incentives for parts of the supply chain to continue serving the fossil fuel boiler market, taking investment and installer training away from heat pumps. In turn this will mean consumers will likely delay any decision to install a heat pump whilst the detailed exemption criteria remain unclear. This will damage heat pump market growth.  

 c. Scrap policies to force landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties, but instead continue to encourage households to do so where they can. 

i. Following a 28 day statutory delay, to raise the Boiler Upgrade Grant to £7,500 to help households who want to replace their gas boilers with a low-carbon alternative like a heat pump. The Government has suggested this is a 50% uplift. However, this is not the case for ground source heat pumps, where it only represents a 25% increase on the current grant level of £6,000. Whilst all uplifts are welcome to a degree, the level of increased funding for ground source heat pumps falls considerably short of what is needed for the scale of the transition ahead. 

 2. The Committee on Climate Change is clear that we cannot reach net zero if we continue to use gas for heating, and heat pumps are the only alternative technology available today that can realistically be deployed at scale.  

 3. The Heat Pump Association has long called for a firm date for a fossil fuel boiler ban. Doing so will give the necessary firm commitment against which manufacturers will gear up to switch to heat pumps, and installers will have a clear signal of the need to ensure they have the appropriate skills. As we have seen from yesterday’s announcements, an “ambition”, such as that previously pledged to end the sale of fossil fuel boilers off-gas-grid, is insufficiently certain, and only a firm commitment will provide the necessary confidence for businesses to invest in the manufacturing, training and supply chain changes necessary to scale the industry up to the size needed to meet net zero in 2050. 

 4. Heat accounts for over a third of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions which is largely due to the dominance of gas and the use of more carbon intensive fuels, such as oil and LPG. In order to meet our legally binding net zero targets, low carbon heat sources will need to be adopted by homes on mass

For media inquiries, please contact:

Olivia Smalley (Head of Policy and Communications)

Email: Olivia.smalley@thehpa.org.uk

 

The HPA supports Scotland’s ambitious efforts to increase Heat Pump Deployment  

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) welcomes recent policy proposals to increase heat pump deployment in Scotland as well as recent initiatives to increase installer training capacity. These are crucial steps towards achieving the Scottish government’s target of achieving net zero by 2045. 

Scotland has taken a momentous stride in its commitment to combatting climate change and reducing carbon emissions by consulting on changes to accelerate the uptake of more environmentally-friendly central heating systems such as heat pumps.

The Scottish Government has committed to installing 170,000 heat pumps by 2030 in off-gas grid properties  and is consulting on banning fossil fuel heating installations in new build homes and other buildings seeking a building warrant  from April 2024. Alongside these proposals, changes to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings, resulting in homes with gas boilers being  downgraded compared to those with climate-friendly systems such as heat pumps, are also being consulted on alongside the requirement for properties to meet EPC band C standards at key moments such as when they are bought and sold.

Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings Patrick Harvie, has reaffirmed the applicability of heat pump technology in all home types in Scotland and maintained that the Scottish Government will commit to encouraging the move away from gas boilers to ‘tried and tested’ heat pumps. The Government in its Heat in Buildings Strategy set a target of converting one million homes connected to mains gas to low or zero-emission heating by 2030.

With a recent poll of over 2,000 people conducted by WWF Scotland finding that 57% of respondents would install a heat pump with some or no support from government and 40% would consider installing a heat pump as an alternative to a fossil fuel boiler within the next five years, the technology clearly has support. The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme in Scotland, provides up to £7,500 grant funding for new heat pumps with the option to fund the remaining cost through an interest-free loan.

A key enabler to unlocking the full potential of heat pump deployment in Scotland is ensuring a high number of qualified and competent trained installers. Current figures from the MCS dashboard show there are 187 certified MCS heat pump businesses working in Scotland, who have completed over 8,400 heat pump installs since 2022 . Whilst there has been consistent growth, it’s evident that more qualified and competent certified heat pump installation businesses will be needed to meet the ambition.

It is therefore fantastic to see the opening of a new mobile heat pump training facility in Scotland to provide certified training locally, direct to where installers are based. This is particularly welcome given the challenges associated with providing training provision in rural and remote areas of Scotland.

The mobile heat pump facility is a BPEC-certified approved training and assessment centre, offering installers heat pump training as well as the opportunity to gain their Water Byelaws/Regs and Domestic Vented and Unvented Hot Water Storage qualifications. The mobile training facility was launched by Mr Graeme Dey, Minister for Higher Education, Further Education and Minister for Veterans at South Lanarkshire College on 2 August.  

The project has been fully funded by the Scottish Government and has come to fruition thanks to a collaboration between Energy Saving Trust, Energy Skills Partnership (ESP), South Lanarkshire College, and HPA member Nibe. The new training facility is hosted by South Lanarkshire College and will be a resource that any college in Scotland can use to provide heat pump training in their local area.

‘It is great to see Scotland reaffirming its commitment to support the deployment of heat pumps, and consulting on steps to actively reflect their low carbon nature through EPC ratings.  Furthermore, the opening of the new mobile training unit is the perfect depiction of industry and government working together to solve key challenges in the journey to decarbonising heat. These initiatives are crucial to securing a green future for Scotland.’

The Heat Pump Association welcomes announcements by the Government today to speed up the UK’s Net Zero pathway

After Chris Skidmore’s Review of Net Zero which echoed the calls for greater efficiency in the UK’s housing stock, a renewed focus on low carbon heating is needed, and clarifications provided by government today should go far to realising this, and to increase consumer and installer interest in heat pump technology.

We look forward to working with government as it works to implement the below package of measures to ensure we reach the target of 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028. Proposed plans, if implemented effectively, will succeed in providing much needed clarity for the heat pump industry to invest in the technology and upskill heat pump rollout across the country. 

The government have released a consultation on clean heat market mechanism – a policy aimed at supporting the development of the UK market for heat pumps through a market incentive to grow the numbers of heat pumps installed in premises each year.

A welcome extension was also placed on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), until 2028, to help the scheme take full advantage of money available to help households with the initial up-front costs of installing heat pump systems. The HPA hopes to see a more detailed response from government to address issues laid out in the House of Lord’s review into BUS and an indication as to the amount of funding available to consumers. Installers will also benefit from the extension of the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training Competition, providing discounts for heat pump training for installers across England.

The HPA is pleased to see details of a new £30 million Heat Pump Investment Accelerator to boost the heat pump manufacturing and supply chain. By unlocking investment in the UK heat pump supply chain, businesses can better gear up for increased heat pump rollout in the UK and unlock the economic benefits of net zero.

The announcement also included news that gas and electricity costs will be rebalanced to speed up electrification for households and businesses. Placing focus on driving down electricity bills will result in a more comparable cost difference between fossil fuel boilers and heat pumps. 

The HPA has advocated for a long-term, predictable policy framework for home heating, recommending commitment to a fixed date for the phase out of fossil fuel boilers and for developing policy to aid the effort to reach the Government’s heat pump installation targets. We hope that the Government continues to consider these key changes to further provide certainty to the industry and emphasise the important role heat pumps will have in transforming Britain’s heating supply.

“Today’s announcements follow our recommendations for transforming Britain’s heating by tackling heat pump investment and affordability challenges. The Government has today doubled down on placing heat pumps at the forefront of the switch to low carbon heating, and we are pleased to see further progress on specific policies to drive the pathway to an installation rate of 600,000 heat pump systems per year by 2028.

The Heat Pump Association will continue to work closely with the Government to grow the market to catch up with heat pump rollout from our European counterparts, and we hope the Government will soon publish its response to Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review and have confidence to commit to a firm end date for the sale of fossil fuel boilers.”

Notes to Editors:

1. For all media enquiries, please contact: media@heat-pumps-old.local

2. For all other enquiries, please contact: info@heat-pumps-old.local

3. For further information about the HPA and to view our industry reports, please visit www.heatpumps.org.uk

The HPA welcomes the Government’s Heat Training Grant for Heat Pump Installers

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) welcomes plans announced by the Government today for a £5 million Heat Training Grant aimed at supporting 10,000 low carbon heating installers over the next two years. Heating engineers will be eligible for grants of up to £500 towards training costs, creating new green jobs, and helping to future-proof the heating industry.

The scheme announced today echoes calls by the HPA for government to provide more help to kickstart the heat pump installer base to bolster the chances of the UK hitting its heat pump installation targets.

Grants of up to £500 will cover most of the costs of a level 3 heat pump training course, whilst manufacturing members, including some of HPA’s members, are expected to offer additional discounts to participating trainees – further reducing costs for installers and providing a more affordable route to becoming a heat pump engineer. These additional benefits could be worth up to a further £500 in product vouchers, additional training, and other support.

The HPA set out in its Pathway to Heat Pumps1 report that the first pillar of transforming Britain’s heating industry would be to create a highly skilled installer workforce. The report recommended more intervention from Government to support adopters of low carbon heating technology through compensation for training and loss of earnings whilst undertaking this.

Our 2020 Building the Installer Base for Net Zero2 report called for the Government to introduce a voucher scheme and we have been working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the development of this scheme since.

Today’s announcement will go far to kickstarting the UK’s heat pump industry, and ensuring the skills are there to future proof the heating industry and enable the transition to net zero.

“Installers are the most important ambassadors of heat pumps to the consumer, and the HPA warmly welcomes this scheme to support them build on their existing skill base to become the green heating installers of the future. This is exactly the sort of early-bird support we have called for. 

We already have the building blocks in place – our own training course and capacity among our members to train 40,000 installers per year. This government scheme will give the industry a real boost in helping installers upskill for heat pumps to take over from gas boilers as the go-to heating technology for new and replacement systems alike in the majority of homes.” 

Notes to Editors:

1. For all media enquiries, please contact: media@heat-pumps-old.local

2. For all other enquiries, please contact: info@heat-pumps-old.local

3. For further information about the HPA and to view our industry reports, please visit www.heatpumps.org.uk

The HPA appoints Charlotte Lee as its first Chief Executive from mid-April 2023

Charlotte Lee will become the Heat Pump Association’s new Chief Executive in April 2023. 

Charlotte brings highly relevant experience to the role. She is currently Head of External Affairs at NAPIT, a Government-approved certification body that includes the plumbing and heating sector, including heat pumps. Prior to this, Charlotte led on policy development and Government affairs for heat pumps and energy efficiency whilst at Ecuity Consulting and the Micropower Council (latterly the Sustainable Energy Association). 

Charlotte Lee commented: 

“Over the next decade, the UK will undergo the largest change in how homes and other buildings are heated since central heating started becoming commonplace in the 1970s. I’m delighted to have been asked to spearhead the HPA’s contribution to how this transformation takes place. I look forward to tackling the many challenges of implementing this change, and heating installers will be particularly key in helping consumers on this journey. I hope to use my recent experience to bring insight into the best ways to engage installers in doing so. 

“I look forward to working with the HPA’s membership and other key stakeholders to accelerate the decarbonisation of heat in buildings, ensuring heat pumps remain at the very heart of that transition.” 

“I speak for all our members in welcoming Charlotte as the HPA’s first Chief Executive. She joins at a pivotal time when Government is setting a clear pathway for heat pumps to become the technology of choice for most future heating systems. The Heat Pump Association has now grown to represent the manufacturers supplying over 95% of the UK’s heat pumps, so this appointment is a timely step in the Association’s development.”

Notes to Editors:

1. For all media enquiries, please contact: media@heat-pumps-old.local

2. For all other enquiries, please contact: info@heat-pumps-old.local

3. For further information about the HPA and to view our industry reports, please visit www.heatpumps.org.uk

HPA Response to HoL Committee Recommendations

Today, the House of Lord’s Environment and Climate Change Committee has published its conclusion to a review into the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), finding that the scheme is failing to deliver on its key objectives. The review also found that policy framework, public communications, and householder advice is needed to improve awareness and interest in low carbon heating systems.

We welcome the Committee’s findings and recommendations to drive uptake of the scheme, especially in relation to the need for greater clarity and clearer policy including a firm date for the phase out of fossil fuel boilers. Whilst the scheme has enabled some households to access low carbon heating, we agree that a review is required to deliver confidence to the heat pump industry, kickstart the growth of the UK heat pump installer base and help us achieve the government target for 2028.

Our submission to the Committee helped to inform a number of their key recommendations.

We are particularly pleased to see recommendations to increase grant levels to cover the up-front costs of heat pump technology. Better promotion of available help and independent advice for homeowners will further begin to encourage uptake of the scheme and help to educate consumers on the benefits of heat pump technology. We are equally concerned that at the current rate only a fraction of the budget will be deployed and welcome the call for budget for this year to be rolled into the next to compensate for the slow start to the scheme. The HPA also supports directing funding to installer upskilling and training to get more installers into the ecosystem and increasing their availability.

Notes to Editors:

1. For all media enquiries, please contact: media@heat-pumps-old.local

2. For all other enquiries, please contact: info@heat-pumps-old.local

3. For further information about the HPA and to view our industry reports, please visit www.heatpumps.org.uk

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) attends the first ever Civil Service Climate and Environment Conference at the DESNZ Conference Centre

The HPA was delighted to attend the first ever Civil Service Climate and Environment Conference on 21st February hosted by the Civil Service Environment Network.

Representatives of the HPA attended the new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) headquarters in London last week, meeting civil servants across the entirety of government departments to showcase the latest heat pump technology and discuss first-hand how they will play a huge role on the route to Net Zero by 2050.

The event was designed for UK civil servants from a wide range of disciplines and departments to explore the diversity of work being undertaken within the climate space and connect with like-minded individuals across government. It provided an opportunity to widen the HPA’s awareness to a broader audience of civil servants, offering insights and recommendations developed through the collaboration of its member base which represents over 95% of UK heat pump manufacturing share.

The conference also enabled the HPA to receive feedback from civil servants across government departments and engage with those at the frontline of accelerating heat pump rollout through policy framework. It provided the opportunity to communicate a positive message for heat pump technology and project its potential for decarbonising UK heating to a wide and influential audience.

“It was wonderful to see the HPA extend its valuable insight from the heat pump industry to those at the frontline of net zero policy development last week, and hope we continue playing a part in accelerating heat pump rollout across the country.“

Notes to Editors:

1. For all media enquiries, please contact: media@heat-pumps-old.local

2. For all other enquiries, please contact: info@heat-pumps-old.local

3. For further information about the HPA and to view our industry reports, please visit www.heatpumps.org.uk