Heat Pumps Today

16 December | January 2022 Iain Bevan The UK government recently released its Heat and Buildings Strategy, which outlined its plan to lower the cost of low carbon heating systems, and highlighted heat pumps as the key technology to lead the way. As part of the strategy, the government unveiled a £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme, to allow homeowners in England and Wales to apply for £5,000 grants towards the installation of low carbon heating systems such as heat pumps, running for three years from April 2022. This is a welcome confidence boost for the heat pump industry and its installers – although we’d argue that the government should be going further – and anything that makes heat pumps more accessible to end users is a positive. But for those who can find the upfront cost before next April, a greater level of subsidy is available via the Iain Bevan, Commercial Manager of Heating & Renewables at Daikin UK T R A I N I N G Heat Pumps: The technology for now Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive. The faster we transition towards low carbon heating, the sooner we can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, and our exposure to price fluctuations on the wholesale gas market – which are pushing up people’s bills this winter. The direction of travel is clear, and the pace of change is ramping up. The government anticipates that the decarbonisation process will create about 240,000 skilled green jobs by 2035[1]. We’re urging installers to upskill now to meet the demand that’s coming and prepare their businesses for the future. Why heat pumps? Air source heat pumps tick every box Heat pump technology more than delivers on comfort and e‘ciency. Heat pumps are one of several di’erent heating technologies being explored as alternatives to gas boilers, and they’re by far the most established, which means they can easily be rolled out at scale. With so many di’erent options available