Heat pumps have been the UK government’s main proposal to help us reach net zero emissions. A target of 600,000 heat pumps installed per year by 2028 was set, increasing to 1.6 million per year by 2035.
With its Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM) policy being pushed back from April 2024 to April 2025, it seems that the government is behind target. This isn’t surprising when we factor in that heat pump installations by 2023 were under half the number originally planned, so why is there such a deficit?
Why heat pumps in the first place?
For those unfamiliar, heat pumps are alternative heating solutions that provide clean, eco-friendly energy to homes by repurposing heat from the air, water, and ground. This method is less reliant on fossil fuels for producing energy, massively reducing carbon emissions. A thorough breakdown can be found here:
By providing clean, renewable energy whilst remaining efficient, heat pumps offer a viable alternative to boilers. To help speed up the process, the government announced the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides a grant of £7,500 to households that install low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps.
Any installation service can be used, with choices for ground, water, and air source heat pumps Gloucester available online from renewable energy specialists such as GSM Limited.
Why is the UK behind target?
With home heating making up 18% of UK greenhouse gas emissions, this change was intended to drastically reduce Britain’s carbon footprint. Starting its campaign with an optimistic 600,000 heat pumps per year being installed meant the government would have to work very hard to meet its quota, especially with supply and demand not aligning.
Additionally, use and installation costs simply are not covered by the grant alone, meaning the government is relying on people to make a large investment when their gas boilers are already serving them well.
Even with prices dropping, the demand doesn’t seem great enough to match government plans. The government’s awareness of the need for eco-friendly alternatives is there, but it neglected to keep the public well-informed.
