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 Government has recently published it’s long anticipated consultation response about the up and coming Future Homes Standard, as well as more imminent changes to the building regulations now planned for 2022. These updates will have a huge impact on the choices developers make about the specification of new homes. Is it finally time for heat pumps to become the norm in new builds?
The Government is currently consulting on its new Future Homes Standard, which includes proposals to increase the energy efficiency requirements for new homes in 2020. Part of this includes an update to Part L of the Building Regulations, which is the section that relates to energy efficiency, and in particular the changes that will make heat pumps the go-to heating system for developers.
Latest figures from the Internation Energy Agency show that electricity generated in the UK continues to get cleaner, with emission rates per unit of electricity at their lowest for over 100 years. The biggest contributor to this is the development and continued investment in offshore wind. In fact, figures show that the UK has the largest offshore wind capacity in the World, and has done so since 2008.
