Renewables
Time to upskill to heat pumps
According to a recent report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC), upskilling workers will form a large proportion of the future workforce in the 2030s. With momentum building in the heat pump industry, Griff Thomas from GTEC, explains the critical role of the technology in the future heating mix and why now is the time for experienced heating installers to upskill
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ow-carbon technologies must contribute at least 50% of heat demand from buildings by 2035, after which, all new heating installations
and system replacements should be low-carbon, according to the CCC’s pathway to Net Zero. Heat pumps are expected to meet most of this demand, however thousands of trained and skilled installers will be required every year to deliver high quality systems that are correctly sized on a case- by-case basis. Existing installers will play a critical role here,
according to government estimates which suggest that 80% of the 2030s workforce is already in employment. The heat pump challenge presents an exciting opportunity for gas engineers and heating installers with the right qualifications and experience, and a willingness to move with the times.
Why should installers upskill now?
Heat pumps work: The Electrification of Heat demonstration project installed and monitored 742 heat pumps across the UK between July 2020 and October 2021, including 163 in pre-1945 properties. It concluded that heat pumps are suitable for use in all properties, regardless of age and that challenges of using low-carbon heating can be overcome. Demand is growing: The CCC has advised that heat pump installations will need to increase to over one million per year by 2035 with a total of 19 million heat pumps deployed by 2050. The 2022 Progress Report reveals that, while there is still work to be done, heat pump installations are showing promising growth. Installations were up 47% last year, equating to 54,000 new installations in domestic dwellings. Looking ahead to the next few years, the Boiler
Upgrade Scheme (BUS) will fund up to 30,000 heat pump installations each year, providing a welcome step in building consumer confidence in a technology that is relatively new to the domestic market. The Government has committed to reach 600,000 installations per year by 2028, so we can expect to see some more meaningful policy following the end of the BUS in 2025. Costs are coming down: The cost of heat pumps needs to come down by 25 – 50% by 2030 according to CCC projections. This will happen naturally as demand goes up, but it is currently a great barrier to uptake – a chicken and egg scenario. Small production runs are more expensive to manufacturers, expenses which are then passed on to the consumer. Research and development investment at the early stages of the process must also be recouped. The BUS is designed to make heat pump installation
roughly equal to the price of installing a new boiler through a £5,000 subsidy, but running costs are still a
16 August 2022
concern. Although heat pumps throw out around 3.5 times more heat per unit than a gas boiler, electricity prices include levies which make it more expensive than gas. There is talk of these taxes being transferred to gas, which would have a huge impact on how much heat pumps cost to run. ‘Smart’ heat pumps are on the way: a significant amount of investment is being pumped into developing ‘smart grid ready’ heat pumps, including £60 million through the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP). These smart capabilities will contribute to better use of electricity from the grid, while allowing end users to make use of reduced rate heat pump tariffs – something that will further fuel demand for heat pumps. Progress is set to scale-up rapidly over the next
few years as policies and technological developments push the low-carbon sector forward. When everything comes together, we should see increased stabilisation of the heat pump market, reduced costs and an accelerating rate of uptake.
Heat pump training – what’s required?
If all this has fuelled your fire, then you’ll be pleased to know that upskilling to heat pumps is not too time consuming for suitably qualified heating installers. There are new techniques to learn and a stronger focus on heat loss calculations, which will ensure quality and longevity of these early installations. However, many of your skills are transferable and in high demand as we re-skill the installer base to fill new gaps in the market. We need creative thinking surrounding renewable
energy generation and use, and existing installers have the right level of industry expertise to take the low-carbon sector forward and deliver this large-scale change in domestic heating.
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