INSTALLERS: IT'S TIME TO KICK THE HABIT
August 2022
DEMAND FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLES
As the cost-of-living crisis continues and energy bills continue to soar, homeowners are looking for ways to improve energy efficiency and prospective buyers are prioritising this more than ever before.
The Green Homes Report [1] published last month by Rightmove, one of the country’s most-used property portals, shows that energy-saving credentials are now an important consideration for buyers, with a direct link found between energy performance certificate ratings (EPCs) and both the price of and demand for the property.
It identified that homes with an EPC rating of C (the third highest score) could achieve an additional 16% in value compared to a property with an F rating (the second-lowest score). And properties with an EPC rating of B sold 23% quicker than those with a G rating.
The report echoes findings from estate agent firm Savills, whose research [2] shows that not only are buyers paying close attention to EPCs, with 71% of people surveyed saying the EPC rating now played an important role in their considerations over whether to buy a property, but homes with heat pumps or other low carbon technology installed, sell at a premium. 59% of prospective buyers told the company they were willing to pay more for a home primarily powered by renewable energy.
As a first-time buyer myself, these are all statistics I can relate to. When scouring through the home listings on Zoopla and Rightmove, one of the first things my partner and I checked was the EPC certificate and we did not hesitate to completely discount any homes with an EPC rated E or below. Even a D-rated property was a push for us to arrange a viewing for.
Yes, I may have a slight bias working in the HVAC sector and being very aware of fabric and energy efficiency, but I am clearly not in the minority with this line of thought.
Disappointingly, even when looking at new build developments, not one property we saw in our budget and chosen area had a heat pump installed. In a few years’ time, this will be a thing of the past.
As well as for prospective buyers, energy efficiency and environmental factors are proving to be a priority for existing homeowners. The Rightmove report identified that for a huge 89% of homeowners, saving money on energy bills is the biggest driver for making improvements to their property, while, as people increasingly recognise the value of sustainability, 49% want to improve their carbon footprint.
Source: Rightmove Green Homes Report 2022
Consumer interest in energy efficiency measures shows little sign of waning, particularly as a further hike in energy costs is expected this October and again in January.
It’s worth noting that a system with Jaga’s Low-H2O convector radiators is proven to use up to 16% less energy than one with steel panel radiators, and they are found to be at least 5% more economical than underfloor heating.
THE END OF FOSSIL FUEL HEATING
Under the UK government’s current plans, gas and oil boilers will be banned from being installed in all new homes from 2025 and in existing homes from 2035, from when all newly installed heating systems will have to be low carbon and heat pumps will become the primary source of home heating.
Since 14% of UK emissions come from heating our homes, banning gas boilers is a major move to help the country hit its net zero by 2050 target. And with 85% of UK homes still heated by gas, the ban will impact most UK homeowners eventually, but many are trying to get ahead of the game.
DEMAND FOR DOMESTIC HEAT PUMPS HOTTING UP
Heat pump demand is on the rise.
BSRIA has reported [3] that sales of hydronic heat pumps increased last year with a 47% increase in sales of heat pumps with a 50kW capacity or less. They predict this trend is set to continue, with significant growth in 2025 as the pending future homes standard is implemented for new build homes.
Experts say electric heat pumps can help bring household energy bills down and are far more efficient than traditional gas boilers. So, for households already mulling a switch to a heat pump, rising energy prices, particularly gas prices which have risen more than electricity, have acted as an incentive for change.
Analysis by think tank the Regulatory Assistance Project found that, with an efficient heat pump, households can now save up to 27% on their heating bills compared to a gas boiler. For an average household, this is a saving of £261 per year [4]. With the government looking to shift green levies from electricity to gas, heat pumps will become even more financially attractive.
Not only are the regulations changes, increased efficiency, reduced energy bills and carbon footprint contributing to the increasing demand, but also the war in Ukraine. Polling by insight agency Opinium found that a third (33%) of UK adults say they would be more likely to get an electric heat pump to help insulate the country from Russia interfering in the gas market [5].
Although the UK is not itself particularly reliant on Russian gas (with only a very small percentage of its gas supply sourced from Russia), it remains exposed to high prices in global energy markets, but the government’s proposed new Energy Security Bill aims to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to volatile gas prices.
Financial incentives from the government are also a major factor contributing to demand growth. The recent launch of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) which offers homeowners government grants of £5,000 towards the purchase and installation of an air source heat pump, or £6,000 towards a ground source heat pump, is helping people afford to make the switch to low carbon heating.
Since vouchers started on 23 May, Ofgem reported the scheme has received approx. 4.5k applications and issued over £15m worth of vouchers (as at 31 July 2022) [6].
CONSUMERS ARE DOING THEIR OWN RESEARCH
Traditionally, homeowners have gone on installer recommendations, having boilers and steel panel radiators fitted as standard as they’re known, trusted and cheap. But as homeowners are getting savvier about energy efficiency, many are doing their own research into what improvements they can make in their home heating system to reduce their energy bills and environmental impact.
At Jaga, we’ve seen the number of enquiries from homeowners shoot up this year and an increasing number of contractors and installers who come to us have been asked to install our rads by the homeowner.
But increasing consumer demand, which is where the UK government’s main focus has been so far, is just half of the story.
THE NEED FOR INSTALLER TRAINING
Although there is an increasing number of renewables focussed contractors and heat pump trained installers, the issue of installer training is still a significant barrier for adoption of low carbon heating systems. And growing the supply of highly skilled engineers may be even more important and challenging than increasing demand.
A report, published last month by the charity Nesta, estimates that there are currently only 3,000 trained heat pump engineers in the UK, but at least 27,000 will be needed in the next six years, requiring increases of 4,000-6,000 per year [7]. This means training more new engineers every year than are currently in the whole industry.
To support this growth, the Heat Pump Association (HPA) in partnership with member organisations (manufacturers), and the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineers (CIPHE), launched a training course last year which is run from 38 UK training centres across the UK and is designed to assist more than 130,000 gas and oil boiler engineers to install heat pumps in line with government installation targets over the next decade.
IN SUMMARY
This course alone is of course not enough. As the Nesta report highlights – more needs to be done to incentivise installers to make the switch from fossil fuel heating systems to heat pumps. As well as government, training providers, accreditation institutions, manufacturers, colleges, and the existing heating engineer workforce all have important roles to play in spearheading the UK’s transition to net-zero.
At Jaga, we’ve been banging the drum for low carbon heat for many years and have been at the forefront of designing highly energy-efficient convector radiators that provide high outputs with renewable energy technologies. We have recently launched a new, free CPD course for engineers and installers; Emitters: Considerations for Low Flow Temperature Heating, which guides you through the emitter options available when operating on low flow temperatures and how to achieve the most efficient low carbon heating system.
We hope, in tandem with the ramping up of installer training, government legislation and incentivisation and the increase in consumer demand for energy-efficient, low-carbon technologies, this course and our products will help contribute towards a net-zero future.
GET IN TOUCH
For more information about low-carbon heating and pairing emitters with heat pumps, please get in touch with our expert team.
REFERENCES
- Rightmove (2022) Green Homes Report. Available at: https://hub.rightmove.co.uk/content/uploads/2022/07/Rightmove-Green-Homes-Report.pdf
- Savills (2022) Buyers paying significantly more for homes with low-carbon technology, as energy prices rise. Available at: https://www.savills.co.uk/insight-and-opinion/savills-news/327804-0/buyers-paying-significantly-more-for-homes-with-low-carbon-technology–as-energy-prices-rise
- BSRIA (2022) HVAC market trends: UK heat pumps, heat interface units, and boilers. Available at: https://www.bsria.com/uk/news/article/hvac_market_trends_uk_heat_pumps_heat_interface_units_and_boilers_/
- Regulatory Assistance Project (2022) Analysis: Running costs of heat pumps versus gas boilers. Available at: https://www.raponline.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Heat-pump-running-costs-v271.pdf
- Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (2022) Third of Brits more likely to get electric heat pump to shun Russian gas. Available at: https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2022/third-of-brits-more-likely-to-get-electric-heat-pump-to-shun-russian-gas
- Ofgem (2022) BUS Monthly Scheme Update. Available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/bus-monthly-scheme-update
- Nesta (2022) How to scale a highly-skilled heat pump industry. Available at: https://media.nesta.org.uk/documents/How_to_scale_a_highly_skilled_heat_pump_industry_v4.pdf
