A new survey revealed that UK consumers still rely on carbon-intensive home heating systems, and 79% use a gas boiler.
According to the survey from Mitsubishi Electric and Censuswide, 4% of homeowners use an air-source heat pump in their homes, and 73% don’t know enough about low-carbon heating options to make an informed decision about switching.
The survey of 2,025 UK homeowners in July 2024 found that 49% of UK consumers want to buy low-carbon heating solutions, but their understanding of heat pump technology remains low. A total of 18% believe that gas boilers are the most sustainable home heating option, and 25% think that heat pumps are the most environmentally friendly alternative available.
The research also revealed that 73% of consumers also don’t feel they know enough about heat pumps or other renewable heating options to make an informed decision about installing one in their home.
Over a third of UK homeowners feel there is a lack of evidence of the long-term cost savings installing a heat pump could provide.
A further 36% of installers currently don’t see the financial benefits of learning to install one, while 23% are not interested in learning to upskill. Mitsubishi Electric said that these factors combined have led to more than half of UK builders lacking the knowledge needed to recommend heat pumps to their client base.
Charlotte Lee, chief executive of the Heat Pump Association, said: “The way we heat our buildings accounts for a third of carbon emissions in the UK, so encouraging the adoption of renewable heating alternatives like heat pumps is critical to achieving the challenging legal targets ahead of us. Yet barriers to moving from early to widespread adoption of heat pumps remain.
“These include a lack of awareness and acceptance of renewable options amongst consumers, the relative price of electricity and gas- which distorts the heating market and the provision of long-term policy certainty from the government which would provide the sector with confidence to invest. These barriers must be addressed if we want to see an accelerated deployment of heat pumps in people’s homes and businesses, in the coming years.”
A statement said that greater financial support would be the number one motivator for consumers to switch to a heat pump, with 44% wanting a funding grant to cover the cost of installing a new system in their building.
The research found that this desire for funding has already led to increasing demand for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, with applications more than doubling in April this year compared to the same month in 2023 since grants increased from £5,000 to £7,500, and continuing to rise with 12% higher uptake in September 2024 than August 2024. In the recent Autumn Budget, £3.4bn was allocated to heat decarbonisation, including the Warm Homes Plan and further funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to keep up with consumer demand.
The statement added that progress in heat pump uptake is already being made on the commercial front, supported by schemes such as the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which is helping to exemplify the benefits that heat pump technology can bring.