MARCH 2025 | VOLUME 63 | ISSUE 2


Heat pump growth ambitions criticised as wishful thinking


Government targets to increase heat pump installations have been slammed as being “completely detached from reality” without serious investment in skills training and workforce expansion.


Last month the Climate Change Committee issued its latest report to the UK government – Seventh Carbon Budget – which sets out a series of recommendations designed to enable the UK to meet its decarbonisation targets. With 14% of emissions reductions set to come from residential buildings, the CCC has highlighted the importance of electrifying heat, identifying heat pumps as a pivotal


technology in this transition, with 450,000 heat pump installations needed per year by 2030, reaching 1.5 million by 2035.


SNIPEF, the trade association


representing plumbing and heating businesses across Scotland and Northern Ireland, has described the report as being detached from reality and has warned that such targets amount to little more than empty ambitions without a trained workforce to install them. CEO Fiona Hodgson says:


“Heat pump adoption cannot be driven by wishful thinking. The CCC and successive Westminster and devolved governments keep setting ambitious targets while ignoring the fundamental issue: there simply are not enough trained


along in a positive, responsible and fair way. This will require strong leadership, and some challenging decision-making from the government over the next few years.” Manufacturers such as


professionals to install them. “Without serious investment


in skills training and workforce expansion, the UK will fail to meet its heat pump targets. All governments need to stop offloading responsibility onto businesses and take action to ensure we have the people to deliver this transition.” Since 2019, fewer than 9,000 heat


pumps have been installed under the HES Grant and Loan Scheme and the Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan Scheme in Scotland, nowhere near the number needed to meet the CCC’s targets (see also page 4). SNIPEF points out that to stand any chance of success, heat pump installations would need to increase by 200-fold, a target that is impossible to achieve under current workforce constraints. The Federation also emphasises


the urgent need to address the Spark Gap – the imbalance between electricity and gas prices – which remains one of the biggest barriers to heat pump uptake. It is argued


that if electricity stays signifi cantly more expensive


than gas,


homeowners simply will not make the switch, regardless of policy encouragement. “We are in a perverse situation


where government policy tells people to transition to electric heating, yet energy pricing actively discourages them from doing so,” says Hodgson. “The public will not be persuaded to switch to a more expensive heating system in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Without serious reform to energy pricing, the transition to low- carbon heating will remain a pipe dream.”


The need for fuel price reform


has also received backing from the Heat Pump Association, which has called for government intervention to address the disparity. “This step is vital to accelerating


electrifi cation in key sectors like heating and transport,” says HPA chief executive Charlotte Lee. “We must make this transition a just transition, and bring consumers


Mitsubishi Electric and Intatec have echoed the call for further clarity from government. “Direction from the government will give industry and consumers the confi dence they need to make the switch,” argues Russell Dean, Mitsubishi’s deputy divisional manager. “Greater clarity on the Future Homes and Building Standards is also needed, and this will encourage businesses to invest and accelerate innovation in the renewable heating sector.” Stuart Gizzi, CEO at Intatec,


suggests that the lack of a defi nitive governmental roadmap will compromise the industry’s capacity to meet its objectives. “Without clear legislative


frameworks and incentives, installers remain apprehensive about retraining, and businesses are reluctant to allocate resources to training initiatives,” says Gizzi. “Prolonged policy fluctuations and ambiguous directives have deterred business investments, left installers uncertain about their career trajectories, and confused homeowners about their choices. Business thrives on stability; however, current recommendations may be rendered obsolete with shifting policies. The National Audit Office (NAO) has identified policy ambiguity as a significant factor hindering the adoption of heat pumps.”


Product News See page 36


Inside this issue phamnews.co.uk


Training Update See page 16


COMPETITION Win a


Glow-worm Energy


boiler!


See page 37


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