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 plans for the cost of green levies - which raise money to pay for climate change policies - to start coming from your gas bill instead of your electricity bill. This is great news for heat pumps, because it means that by switching from gas to an electrically-powered heat pump, you will save even more on your running costs.
The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (“RHI”) scheme for air source and ground source heat pumps is only open for a further 7 months! The scheme is set to end on 31st March 2022 for new applicants - that’s just 7 months away! If you are considering a ground source heat pump or air source heat pump for your home, now is the time to act in order to benefit from this generous Government grant scheme.
Human activity IS changing the climate to an unprecedented level, and some of the change is already irreversible. That is the conclusion from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“IPCC”) report. Solutions are needed across all sectors in order to rapidly reduce emissions. Both Governments and individuals need to make positive decisions that will reduce carbon emissions right away.
When installing a heat pump you are required to get permission from the District Network Operator - DNO - before making the connection. This is because the DNO, who are responsible for managing the network, need to check whether the local network can handle the additional load from a new heat pump installation. If you install a heat pump without permission, you could be forced to remove it.
DNO applications for existing electricity supplies are handled by us, in-house, as part of our service. When considering which heat pump partner to choose, this is an important factor to consider. Navigating the DNO process can be a challenge, and it is a requirement of the MCS scheme to have the DNO permission in place for a heat pump installation.
The Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (“RHI”) scheme remains open to applications for new air source heat pump and ground source heat pump installations. However, the scheme is set to end on 31st March 2022 for new applicants - that’s less than 12 months away! If you are considering a ground source heat pump or air source heat pump for your home, now is the time to act in order to benefit from this generous Government grant scheme.
As of 5pm Wednesday 31st March, the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme is closed to new applications, thus bringing to an end the Government’s troubled energy efficiency scheme. On face value this might seem like a blow, however for heat pumps the Green Homes Grant never represented additional funding. The existing funding scheme for heat pumps - the Renewable Heat Incentive - has still got another year to run, and continues to encourage uptake of heat pumps throughout the UK.
On 14th December 2020, the Government published the ‘Energy White Paper: Powering our Net Zero Future’ which has been produced to set out the path to achieve the Climate Change Act 2008 requirement of of an 80% cut in carbon emissions by 2050.
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?
