Nesta said that over 600 people have booked a visit to see a heat pump in the first six months of its Visit a Heat Pump service.
According to a company statement, transitioning from gas boilers to low-carbon heating systems like heat pumps will be essential for the UK to get to net zero, but with only 250,000 existing heat pumps in UK homes, many people have never seen one in real life, making it difficult to imagine how they could work in their own home.
Nesta said VisitAHeatPump.com is an online platform that connects heat pump owners with those interested in this low-carbon tech. People interested in getting one can search via their postcode on the website, find nearby owners and book a visit to see it in that owner’s home.
The service also now features 200 heat pump installers, enabling heat pump owners to feature and recommend their installer to visitors. The statement added that some installers are already sharing the platform with prospective customers, with qualitative data suggesting that these customers visit and go on to make an install.
Nesta has marked the six-month point by publishing new data on the service. This includes insights on visitor motivations, outcomes and whether visits influence decisions on whether or not to install a heat pump. The company said its data found that heat pump visits have taken place across Great Britain, from Inverness to the Isle of Wight and Neyland to Norwich. Buckinghamshire, Shropshire and Bristol have the most heat pump hosts – while most visits took place in Lambeth, Edinburgh and Stockport.
Nesta surveyed users of the heat pump platform and found “promising signs” that visiting a heat pump is a positive step towards installing one. The service asked visitors to take a survey before and after they visited a heat pump to understand any changes in their attitudes, knowledge and confidence in heat pumps. The data revealed that there are significant improvements in all measures of attitudes, knowledge and confidence.
Following a visit, 79% of visitors stated that they could imagine what it would be like to have a heat pump in their home, which increased from 21%. In addition, visitors often visit houses similar to their own, it added, indicating people are more likely to adopt a new technology when they see others like themselves using it.
Nesta said the data suggested that visits helped people get a better sense of both the opportunities and challenges of having a heat pump installed and reach a decision about whether a heat pump is right for them. Helping people reach an informed decision more quickly saves time and money for both customers and installers. Many participants stated that their visit did help them to make the final decision to go ahead with an installation.