The heat pump market in the UK looks poised for significant growth over the next two years as HVAC manufacturers seek to offer a viable renewable alternative to customers.

Around 22,000 heat pumps were installed in the UK in 2017, according to research by the BSRIA, representing an annual rise of 18% after five years of market decline and indicating an upward trend which appears to be continuing.

So what exactly is driving this growth?

Marketing

One of the things that has been holding the industry back is lack of awareness. There is now much more information available about heat pump technology and widespread advertising has helped spread the word.

The Renewable Heat Incentive

For years the heat pump market has suffered from uncertainty over the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). Now that the government has extended the RHI programme to 2021, with attractive tariffs for heat pumps, the industry can move forward with greater confidence.

Off-gas areas

There are signs that the government may be favouring a move away from oil-fired heating in rural and remote areas that lie off grid for gas. Heat pumps are seen as a renewable alternative and with around 3.6 million homes off the mains gas grid across England and Wales, the potential market is huge.

Social housing and new builds

LG Electric recently went on record to say that the social housing and private new build markets were becoming important drivers in the growth of heat pump adoption in the UK. The rationale behind this seems to be that whereas fitting heat pumps to existing properties can present certain challenges, new builds offer an opportunity to design them in from the outset. These markets also offer the level of volume sales needed to provide a catalyst for growth. Including heat pumps in building design and planning is a way for architects and planners to reduce emissions, improve the environmental credentials of a building and increase the use of renewable energy.

Thornhvac regularly has career opportunities for graduates, design engineers, HVAC sales people and service engineers to work in the growing heat pump industry. To find out more please contact us on 0115 8714777 or view our latest jobs.