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Addressing low heat pump heating system sales in the UK
7/6/2023
8 min read
Perhaps it doesn’t have to be gas boilers versus electric heat pumps. Here, Ben Costelloe* proposes a temporary dual heat pump and boiler transition scheme as a way to see heat pumps gain widespread acceptance in the UK.
In order to address net zero obligations, many European states have a policy to replace fossil fuel-fired heating boilers with heat pumps. While this policy seems to be succeeding in Scandinavia and some Baltic countries, it is failing in many areas of Western Europe, particularly in the UK. A recent survey of heat pump sales as a percentage of total heating system sales showed Sweden at 92%, France at 32%, Ireland at 18% and the UK at 3%.
The UK government’s target is to install 600,000 heat pumps per annum by 2028. However just 43,000 were installed in 2022 – a very low number relative to the 1.6 million gas boilers fitted in the same period. Worn out gas boilers are being replaced with new gas boilers, not heat pumps. Fresh thinking is required if this serious situation is to be reversed.
Why are heat pump sales so low in the UK?
The standard answer to this question is that many UK buildings are unsuitable due to their low levels of insulation. Heat pumps generate water at typically 55°C compared with 75–85°C for boilers and therefore need very well insulated buildings to achieve the required room temperatures.
But is this the only issue? There are regular accounts in the UK media describing the public’s perception and experience of heat pumps. These give a much wider understanding of the problem and are summarised here: