Heat pump installations in the UK have already exceeded last year’s total, setting a new milestone for the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) with three months still to go in 2024. By the end of September, 42,000 installations were completed—outpacing 2023's total by approximately 4%.
The UK government is launching the Warm Homes Grant in 2025, an exciting initiative aimed at helping homeowners make their properties more energy-efficient. This fully funded scheme is available to those who meet certain criteria and could significantly reduce your energy costs while lowering your home's carbon footprint.
This week, the UK's last coal power station closed, signalling that the country’s energy landscape is undergoing a massive transformation. For over 200 years, coal was king, powering industry and homes alike. But today, renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydro are rapidly replacing fossil fuels in the national grid. With that change comes a new challenge—and opportunity—for those of us in the heating and plumbing industry.
With the UK election out the way and a new government in place, we feel it’s important to explore the potential implications for the heat pump market now that Labour has taken the helm. For plumbers, particularly those considering diversifying into heat pump installations, Labour's anticipated measures could present significant opportunities in the evolving green energy sector.
The UK remains overly dependent on natural gas, according to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), which provides independent recommendations to the government.
In its recent annual assessment, the NIC highlights the urgent need to reduce reliance on high-cost, high-carbon natural gas and accelerate the adoption of heat pump technology to meet the ambitious net zero targets by 2050. According to the Commission, decarbonising buildings is a critical aspect of this transition and represents the single biggest challenge on the path to net zero.
The Telegraph recently published an article stating UK National targets for replacing gas boilers with heat pumps are based on unrealistic assumptions about the number of installers required to undertake such a transformation. The Energy and Utilities Alliance estimates that almost 3 times as many installers are required if the Government wants to achieve their heat pump installation targets.
2023 has started in exactly the same manner as 2022 finished – absolutely manic. Demand for heat pumps and our services has never been higher, meaning that as a business we’re undergoing quite the transformation. As we recap on the achievements of last year, we also look ahead to the opportunities that the coming year presents us with.
Anti-freeze valves and glycol are two different components that serve similar purposes in a heat pump system. Glycol is a type of anti-freeze that is commonly used in heat pump systems to prevent the water in the system from freezing in cold weather. Glycol is specifically designed to lower the freezing point of water, which is necessary to prevent damage to the system in cold conditions. Anti-freeze valves, on the other hand, are designed to automatically open and drain out the water within the system when the water drops below a certain temperature.
With 2022 wrapping up, we thought it would be a good time to recap how our year has been. The last 12 months have been a blur with everything moving at lightning speed. We’ve partnered with a record number of heat pump installers and have expanded our team significantly to keep up with heat pump demand. This year alone, our team has grown by 62% and doesn’t show signs of slowing.
The UK, like many other countries, is striving to decarbonise all sectors of the economy to meet net zero targets. This goal, along with the on-going issues with energy prices means that there is a growing demand for products that will make homes energy efficient. Whilst many new builds are being developed with energy efficiency in mind, it’s important to remember that the biggest benefit will be seen by retrofitting most of the UK’s homes with products that will reduce energy consumption.
Last month, Santander released a new report stating that UK House Buyers were willing to pay a premium for energy efficient properties. The study which surveyed 2,300 buyers found that energy efficiency was one of the most desirable features of a home, ranking higher than a large garden or a home office. Right now, buyers are placing a 9.4% premium on green properties, which is great news for anyone who has installed or is intending to install a heat pump at their property. On average, buyers were willing to pay £26,600 more for a green property which is considerably more than the cost of installing a heat pump.
The last few Autumns and Winters really have been a bit crazy when it comes to heat pump and hot water cylinder stock. Before the pandemic hit, most manufacturers had no ongoing stock issues however from 2020 onwards there has been a dramatic change, meaning we can no longer assume there will never be any issues with the supply chain. We therefore decided to make a big change to our distribution strategy. We extended our warehouse capacity so that we could significantly increase the quantities of both heat pumps and hot water cylinders from various manufacturers so that we could hold in stock ourselves.
