Heat pump installations likely to miss net zero target

HEAT pumps are not being installed quickly enough to meet net zero targets, despite record uptake.

The Government wants 600,000 to be fitted a year by 2028, and has increased grants available to homeowners and cut red tape for installation.

But less than 40,000 certified heat pumps were installed last year, with just 36,799 air source heat pumps fitted, alongside 2,469 ground or water heat pumps, data from the MCS Foundation, which oversees the certification of heat pump installers, show.

This is up from 32,910 in 2022, but experts warned that the rate of uptake will need to increase more than tenfold to hit government targets.

The devices have been criticised for failing to properly heat large older properties and being noisy. The running cost of heat pumps is 10pc higher than that of an average gas boiler – equal to £100 a year, according to a July 2022 report by the Climate Change Committee.

Richard Hauxwell-baldwin, of the MCS Foundation, said the Government needed to communicate better with homeowners about support available for those installing heat pumps.

Andrew Sissons, deputy director at energy innovation charity Nesta, said: “The Government should make electricity cheaper by removing levies on bills, remove some of the red tape that can block people from getting a heat pump and make it easier for heating engineers to train in installing heat pumps.”

Homes built after 2025 will not be allowed gas boilers, as part of the Government’s initiative to reach netzero carbon emissions by 2050.

The Government announced in October that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which helps homeowners with the costs of installing heat pumps, would increase from £5,000 to £7,500.

There was a 50pc increase in the number of installations year on year following the expansion of the grant scheme, according to Ofgem figures.

In November, the low take-up of the grants led to the Government scrapping a rule that said to be eligible for the grant, heat pumps had to be installed at least one metre from any boundary wall, in order to lessen noise pollution.

Ministers announced earlier this month that planning rules will be relaxed to allow heat pumps and solar panels to be more easily installed on listed buildings. Owners in England will no longer need to apply for permission to install the green technology.

The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero and Ofgem were contacted for comment.