The Heat Pump Industry realise that their technology is at the brink of making a major contribution to domestic heating in the UK, this will add to their huge impact on commercial heating and cooling. Ground source, air source, heat recovery applications already exist in their thousands in the UK despite the lack of significant government commitment compared to other European countries.
Their energy efficiency leading to very significant CO2 savings, even when compared to natural gas is well documented, and the industry has demonstrated at home and abroad that is can successfully deploy products in sufficient quantity to rapidly make a difference.
Heat pumps have good quality and robust testing standards, and the Micro-generation Certification Scheme introduces rigour to the selection and installation of heat pumps in the UK, this with the full support of industry.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) Warm Front Scheme has been changed to ‘improve the quality of service for its customers’. Households connected to the gas grid are now eligible for grants of up to £3,500, up from £2,700, while those in areas off the gas grid can apply for funding up to £6,000, an increase of £2,000.
The Scheme is also being expanded to include the installation of low-carbon heat and power technologies such as air source heat pumps and solar thermal heating, which DECC says will help householders generate their own low-cost, renewable energy. These technologies will initially be trialled in small-scale pilot programmes.
