One year after Vaillant launched its Heat Pump Possible initiative, Kevin McCloud has met with the installers involved in the original challenge and explore their views on how the heat pump market has changed since mid-2023.
Vaillant’s Heat Pump Possible initiative called on homeowners and installers to share their heat pump installs to help showcase the potential behind the low-carbon heating technology.
Henrik Hansen, managing director of Vaillant Group, UK and Ireland, said: “Our aim was to uncover the truth behind installing heat pumps across a wide variety of homes around the UK, answering common queries about the practicalities of installing and living heat pumps, and to prove how heat pumps can be easier to install and run than many installers and homeowners may have previously believed.
“There is still a way to go to reach the number of installs per year, but the heat pump industry has certainly seen positive growth over the past year. It is great to be able to meet with installers we talked to as part of the first project to get an ‘on-the-ground’ view of what has been happening out in the market.”
Luke Sheppard and his business partner from Optimus Heating, Simon Murray, also shared their experience of the market and how it had progressed one year on.
Luke added: “My bills have dropped from when we had our gas boiler; so far this year, we’ve spent £370 on our energy to run the air source heat pump that heats our three-bed semi-detached house and gives us hot water all year round.”
Simon stated that he felt an 82% drop in his monthly energy bill after replacing an older heat pump with a Vaillant aroTHERM plus.
Simon said: “I went from an older heat pump paired with a boiler that was costing me £500 a month to run, to an aroTHERM plus costing about £90 a month, which I am delighted with.
“The less things on that system, the better. Go back to basics. The right pipework, and the right emitters – that’s all you need, and the heat pump will do its job.”
Luke continued: “With new technology being overwhelming for some customers, it’s important for installers to simplify the process.
“What I’ve learnt is that you need to be very pro-active with the customer, talking to them to really understand what their needs are so you can develop a system that works for them.”