Transforming Britains Heating – A Pathway to Heat Pumps

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) today published a call for a strong partnership between Industry and Government to transform Britain’s domestic heating market towards heat pumps as sales of new fossil fuel boilers is phased out by the mid 2030s.

Placing the role of the heating installer at the heart of the transition, the HPA also announced the launch of a new membership category for installers, as well as drawing attention to substantial investment in UK manufacturing and training, and ideas for Government to make enabling policy changes. Its new document:

sets out several ideas for how it sees the respective roles of industry and Government working together to drive the change.

“Central heating will personalise a significant part of the journey to net zero for millions of consumers. The next decade will see the biggest shake-up of the heating sector in living memory as the country’s homes become increasingly heated by heat pumps.

“The Heat Pump industry is fully ready to take on this challenge and be the prime mover for this change, with Government providing the enabling policy change. Significant investments in UK manufacturing and installer training have already been made in response to some of the signals Government has given so far. Further clarity of the policy framework will unlock the remaining investor confidence needed to finish the job.

“Today’s 130,000 Heating Installers and a new generation of apprentices will be front and centre of this transition. Our Pathway document sets out some of the ideas for how the Industry / Government partnership can work to support them in becoming part of the Government’s 2030 target for 480 000 high-skilled jobs to power the Green Industrial Revolution.”

Notes to Editors:

1. On 14 June 2022, The Heat Pump Association published:

‘Transforming Britain’s Heating – A Pathway to Heat Pumps‘

1. The Pathway calls for a strong partnership between the Heat Pump Industry and Government to bring about the intended phase-out of new fossil fuel boilers by the mid 2030s, and meet the Government’s target of 600,000 heat pumps being installed annually by 2028.
2. The Pathway identifies four “Pillars” for the transition, highlights steps already taken or that will be taken by the industry, and ideas for enabling policy changes to allow the industry to drive the change, and unlock investment to do so. These are:
• Creating a highly-skilled Heat Pump Installer Workforce
• A long-term predictable policy framework for home heating
• Market Development and Reform
• Financing the transition
3. About the Heat Pump Association: The Heat Pump Association (HPA) is the UK’s leading authority on the use and benefits of heat pump technology and includes many of the country’s leading manufacturers of heat pumps, components and associated equipment. Website: www.heatpumps.org.uk
4. For media enquiries contact media@heat-pumps-old.local

Heat Pump Association Welcomes Launch of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) has welcomed the launch of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme as a step forward in the Government’s mission to roll out 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028.

As part of the Government’s plans to boost the deployment of heat pumps and remove barriers to uptake, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will provide grants to encourage households in England and Wales to install heat pumps. The scheme will run from 2022 to 2025 providing households and small non-domestic properties with £5,000 to support the installation of an air source heat pump or £6,000 for a ground source heat pump.

“The Heat Pump Association welcomes the launch of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the financial support it will provide to those who opt for a heat pump. An upfront financial incentive like this will not just help to kickstart the industry by making the technology more accessible but will also provide heating installers with the confidence boost they need to upskill. With the capacity to train 40,000 installers each year, we have made huge strides as an industry to improve the heat pump training pathway, and we are hopeful that this scheme will inspire the workforce to take up the opportunities available.

“Heat pumps represent a readily available and long-term solution to fossil fuel heating and the scheme is a big step towards kickstarting the mass rollout needed to grow the sector and put the UK economy on track to meet Net Zero.”

About the Heat Pump Association  

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) is the UK’s leading authority on the use and benefits of heat pump technology and includes many of the country’s leading manufacturers of heat pumps, components and associated equipment.

HPA Media Enquiries

To find out more about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, visit: Boiler Upgrade Scheme – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Christina Thompson-Yates, Policy Communications Manager
media@heat-pumps-old.local  | Telephone: 07394 560 984

Heat Pump Association confirms Craig Dolan as Vice Chair   

Craig Dolan, European Heat Pump Business Development Manager at Vaillant Group, has been appointed Vice-Chair of the Heat Pump Association (HPA).  

Craig Dolan steps into the role to support HPA Chair, Phil Hurley during an incredibly exciting time for the heat pump industry.

Heat pumps have been recognised by the Government as a key technology in the push to reach Net Zero by 2050, with the technology featuring heavily in the Heat and Buildings Strategy published last year. Ambitions have been laid out to see 600,000 heat pumps installed in homes per year by 2028, with policy support in place to incentivise uptake in existing homes and roll out the technology in new homes built from 2025. Most recently, the Government announced a green VAT cut on energy efficiency measures and heat pumps over a period of five years, and a £30 million Heat Pump Accelerator Competition to make British heat pumps.

HPA Media Enquiries

Christina Thompson-Yates, Policy Communications Manager

media@heat-pumps-old.local  | Telephone: 07394 560 984

The Federation of Environmental Trade Associations (FETA) is delighted to announce that Mike Nankivell has been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to the UK Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry.

With almost 50 years of experience in the HVACR industry, Mike has served as President of the Heat Pump Association (HPA), President of HEVAC and as Chairman of FETA during its 30th anniversary year. In the wider industry he is also a Fellow and former Trustee of the Institute of Refrigeration (IoR) and has served as a Director of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board (ACRIB).

Russell Beattie, Chief Executive of FETA said: “It was an absolute pleasure for FETA to nominate Mike, with support from other key stakeholders in the industry, for an honour. Mike epitomises the very best of the volunteer culture which exists within Trade Associations and his personal commitment to the entire HVACR industry is second to none.”

One of Mike’s many achievements was as Chair of the ACRIB F Gas Implementation Group from 2005 to 2020 where his role saw him voluntarily acting as an industry advisor to DEFRA and the Environment Agency. Mike was responsible for the UK industry response to the F Gas regulations and his steadfast desire to pursue the very best climate change driven solution for Europe is a demonstration of his commitment to every role which he has held.

Commenting on being awarded an OBE, Mike said: “I am proud, grateful and equally humbled that my work within an industry that I love has been recognised in this amazing way. Throughout my long career within the HVACR industry I have had the privilege to work with a number of incredible people and I would like to pay tribute to each and every one of them as they are the ones who have made this possible.”

Russell concludes: “Mike is widely recognised as a leading UK industry figure and we are delighted to hear that he has been awarded this OBE. The F Gas Implementation Group which Mike chaired fulfilled a critical representational need within industry and his personal contribution, which continued after his retirement, should not be underestimated.

“He has also made a significant contribution to FETA, holding many key leadership roles, including more recently serving as President of the Heat Pump Association, laying foundations for its growing success in a sector which is key to delivering the Government’s net zero carbon vision.

His considerable expertise, coupled with his passion for promoting all aspects of the industry, makes him an inspiration to all those who come into contact with him.”

Heat Pump Association is disappointed with decision to cut Green Homes Grant Funding

The Heat Pump Association is disappointed that 95% of the funding provided for the Green Homes Grant scheme looks unlikely to be rolled over into the next financial year.

The much-needed funding was to be used to improve the energy performance of homes across England through low carbon heat and energy efficiency measures; however, despite high demand from households, less than 5% of the vouchers have been used due to issues with the scheme’s administration.

The Green Homes Grant was launched to kickstart a green recovery in September last year and was thought to create thousands of green jobs. The Heat Pump Association has been working hard to train installers so that they are able to meet the high demand of the scheme, with many installers already at full capacity.

The HPA is concerned that the decision to roll back funding will discourage heating installers from training or upskilling so they can install technologies like heat pumps, at a time when the industry needs to prepare for net zero. The Government’s target of 600,000 heat pumps per year could fail without a significant boost in installer numbers over the next decade.

The decision not to roll over the funding will also send the wrong signal to households who have demonstrated their interest in improvements by applying for Green Homes Grant vouchers. Policy stability is vital for providing both industry and households with the confidence they need to ‘buy into’ the low carbon transition.

“The Heat Pump Association is disappointed to see that unspent funding for the Green Homes Grant looks unlikely to be rolled over despite significant delays caused by the scheme’s administration rather than demand. This rollover would have demonstrated the Government’s commitment to improving UK homes through energy efficiency and low carbon heat and given the industry the time and confidence it needs to deliver the green recovery.”

UK Heat Pump market set to almost double this year

The Heat Pump Association, which represents around 95% of the heat pump manufacturing market share, has surveyed its members to estimate the supply of heat pumps in 2021. This has revealed that manufactures have placed orders with their supply chains to deliver a total of 67,000 units in 2021. This equates to a nearly double the number of heat pumps on shelves and in warehouses ready for installers to meet the growing consumer demand.

This huge boost in predicted sales is extremely promising for the industry on the road to net zero. Last year, the Prime Minister laid out his Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, which set out ambitions to roll out 600,000 heat pumps into homes per year by 2028. With 35,000 heat pumps sold in 2019, the near doubling of the market is a significant step in the right direction. The growth also closely aligns with the HPA’s roadmap to net zero, which called for 72,000 heat pump installations this year.

The Heat Pump Association is committed to preparing and upskilling the installer base across the country so that they can recommend and deploy heat pumps at the scale net zero requires, while delivering long term benefits to customers across the country. Trained heat pump installers are a key part of the low carbon transition and must therefore be able and willing to access training. The HPA outlined a new scalable route to becoming  heat pump installer in its 2020 report: ‘Building the Installer Base for Net Zero Heating’.   The route proposed begins with a technology neutral, low temperature heating course, before specialising in low carbon technologies including heat pumps.

The Heat Pump Association is making continuous progress with this new training route for heat pump installers, with courses expected to begin with the first quarter of this year.

“The near doubling of the heat pump market this year would be a substantial achievement at a time when the decarbonisation of homes and buildings is not just desired but essential; our members are committed to turning today’s forecast into a reality and have clearly backed this up with their advanced ordering.

The estimation of 67,000 heat pumps in 2021 shows the confidence from members of the HPA in delivering the scale up of heat pumps that the Prime Minister’s Ten Point plan necessitates. This is just the beginning of a long journey ahead but we’re off to an incredibly promising start.”

Phil Hurley takes over as Heat Pump Association Chairman

Phil Hurley is the new Chairman of the Heat Pump Association (HPA), replacing Graham Wright who has finished his two-year term and now steps down from the role. Replacing Phil Hurley as Vice-Chairman is Max Halliwell of Mitsubishi Electric.

During his tenure Graham Wright oversaw some major breakthroughs for the heat pump industry and has steered the HPA into a strong position in helping to push the UK towards a carbon neutral future.

Graham said: “It has been a real honour and a privilege to Chair such a forward thinking and hard working group. I am proud to see heat pumps at the forefront of Government strategy in the decarbonisation of heat.”

Phil Hurley has been HPA Vice-Chairman since April 2019 and is Managing Director of NIBE Energy Systems. He said: “With the Government’s announcement of its Green Industrial Revolution the heat pump industry now finds itself on the crest of a wave. I would like to thank Graham for his tireless work and leadership which has brought significant results. I look forward to building on Graham’s achievements and ensuring the heat pump industry is ready to step up and deliver on its promises.”

The Heat Pump Association release revolutionary report outlining steps to decarbonise the UK’s heating industry in the next decade

Today the Heat Pump Association released a ground-breaking report outlining the steps that the UK Government must take to shape future policy and decarbonise the heating industry.

The report aims to substantially shake up the existing frameworks and introduce regulatory, impactful, and meaningful changes in the heating sector, paving the way for mass deployment of low carbon heating. 

The aims of the report are to:

1. Promote changes to establish infrastructure in existing homes for low carbon heating
2. Build and develop installer skills for the recommended changes
3. Lower fuel bills for existing heating systems
4. Lower carbon emissions for existing heating systems

These aims are comprehensive, providing enough detail to influence civil servants and policy makers on the benefits of implementing these changes as well communicating the benefits to the industry.

The report sets out to ‘level the playing field’ across all heating types, encouraging best practice and low carbon heating for all installations, regardless of technology type. This will ensure the smooth transformation of the domestic heating market from fossil fuels to low carbon over the next decade, reducing fuel bills and carbon emissions from homes.

The recommendations can be neatly summarised into three key points:

– Introduce a maximum flow temperature of 55℃ in Building Regulations to be applied to replacement heating systems from 2026.

– Introduce in Building Regulations for Heat Loss Calculations to be carried out for all replacement heating systems from 2026.

– All heating installers to have a Low Temperature Heating and Hot Water Qualification^[i], or equivalent, as part of accreditation scheme refresher courses.

The implementation of these recommendations will establish the heating infrastructure in homes, and skills amongst the installer base, needed for low carbon heating installations, by ‘laying the groundwork’ for wider heat pump adoption. Heat pumps being an established technology, recognised by the Committee on Climate change as the backbone to the decarbonisation of heat.

‘This report could not come at a more pertinent time. The push for a Green Recovery from Covid-19 has put the UK in a unique position to be able to develop new and innovative policy that works to tackle the negative effects of the pandemic whilst working towards net zero. The regulations suggested in this paper undoubtably offer the Government a road to recovery for the heating industry that is green and saves energy and money for the UK.’

New Heat Pump guide to support UK Industry

SOME OF the UK’s most experienced clean energy experts have joined forces to create a new guide for domestic heat pump installers. This new heat pump guide creates a single source of best practice guidance to support the UK heat pump industry.

The Guide has been collaboratively crafted by MCS in partnership with Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC), Energy Saving Trust and Heat Pump Association (HPA). It streamlines advice by providing a single source of best practice on technical guidance and consumer protection.

Published this week, it is designed to support heat pump installers solve technical and contractual problems. With it, installers can easily deploy best practice solutions and processes in a compliant and legal way. It sits alongside the MCS Heat Pump Standard and will support MCS certified installers with every aspect of the design, installation and commissioning of heat pumps.

The transformation of domestic energy will play a significant role in achieving 2050 net zero targets with heat pumps playing an increasingly important role in delivering low carbon domestic heat. Publication of the Guide is timely in light of Government’s low carbon heat spending announcements last week.

Ian Rippin, CEO of MCS said: “With the market for heat pumps likely to grow significantly, it is important that consumers have confidence in the products that will be installed into their home. Building consumer confidence in low-carbon heat is critical to aiding market growth. Building that trust depends on both technical expertise and contractual best practice. So, we welcome this new Guide which provides all this support to installers in one place.”

The contractual section of the guide examines every aspect of the consumer journey with a focus on the performance claims that underpin contract agreements. It was written by consumer protection specialists who have audited hundreds of companies installing small-scale renewable heat technologies.

Virginia Graham, CEO of RECC said: “Designing and installing heat pumps systems requires considerable skill. Providing consumers with accurate information about an unfamiliar heating technology is vital but challenging. So, I am delighted that installers can now find accessible guidance on the whole process in one place. I commend it to our members.”

Mike Thornton, CEO of Energy Saving Trust said: “If government plans for decarbonising heat are to be realised then there will need to be a significant increase in low carbon and renewable heat options including heat pumps.  However, it is vitally important that these technologies are installed effectively so the benefits for the end users including householders can be realised.  We believe the application of this guide will go a significant way to ensuring this happens and we encourage all suppliers to use it”.

The Heat Pump Guide is now available in the Standards and Tools Library online, www.mcscertified.com

Heat Pump Association launches Training Strategy amidst growing calls for a ‘green recovery’

The Heat Pump Association (HPA) today launched a Training Strategy that lays out how the heating industry needs to transform to enable the wider adoption of heat pumps throughout the UK building stock.

The upskilling of heating installers provides the potential for long-term job growth at the same time as helping to achieve net zero emissions; something that could form an important part of a ‘green recovery’.

The Strategy contains five clear steps for how a plumbing and heating engineer can be trained to meet the new challenges we face in trying to achieve the UK goal of a zero carbon future, reducing administration cost, and recommending to government that they support a training voucher scheme for the first 5,000 installers to go through the new course. The Strategy comes at the same time two industry-wide consultationsare published on qualification criteria for training courses.

“The Committee on Climate Change has made clear that we need to move to heat pumps taking over from gas boilers as the default replacement heating system within the next 10-15 years. This is ambitious, but entirely achievable if we move now to retrain and up-skill a market that already exists of around 120,000 existing heating engineers. The role of installers cannot be underestimated in decarbonising heat. The Strategy we are launching today, together with the consultations on qualification criteria released earlier this week, are key steps towards achieving this and provide the potential for green jobs as we look to recover from the current crisis.”

Notes:

The Training Strategy paper ‘Building the Installer Base for Net Zero Heating’ can be found Here.

The HPA represents the significant majority of volume manufacturers of heat pumps in the UK (over 80% of the market). The Association works closely with its membership to support policymakers in the development of effective heat decarbonisation policy and other matters that affect the interests of end users, wider stakeholders, and the industry.

In November 2019, the HPA launched ‘Net Zero: A Roadmap for the Role of Heat Pumps’ which identified training and skills as a key enabler for the decarbonisation of heat through heat pumps.

Today’s Strategy paper, and consultations released earlier this week, bring substance to that.

Timetable is for Course Criteria to be submitted to Ofqual following consultation; first training courses expected to be up and running by the end of 2020.