The heat is on, so let’s turn on more heat pumps

In our latest article, our Energy Services Director, Tom Hoines, looks at the challenges climate change poses and the opportunities for energy usage to flex in response:

The litmus test for the warmth of a British summer is the dreaded hosepipe ban. Sure enough, several water companies across the country have pulled the lever on this water saving measure. After the driest spring in over 100 years, the hottest June ever and in a week in which southern England is warmer than Bali, it is perhaps of little surprise. The Met Office has recently gone on record to say that more very hot days is the UK’s new normal. We are all going to be living with the consequences of an uptick in the mercury readings for decades to come. Warmer temperatures mean warmer homes, so how is energy consumption going to flex in response?

The requirement of it to do so is paramount. The danger of cold temperatures is well documented, which is why policy interventions like the Government’s Warm Home Discount Scheme are so vital. Conversely, when temperatures get too high for comfort, this can also lead to adverse effects, recent FT analysis demonstrated how once indoor temperatures climb above 23C, wellbeing is lessened. The UK is a long way behind the US when it comes to indoor air conditioning with only five per cent of houses currently being equipped. What if there was a clean, green technology that could bring in warm air when it’s cool and expel that same air when the thermometer rises?

It does exist. Heat pumps can be our secret weapon in the battle against extreme temperatures on both sides of the ledger. Their ability to warm homes is fairly widely understood, but their ability to act as clean, green air con is possibly less well acknowledged. Air-to-air heat pumps can pump warm air out of buildings, making them energy efficient coolers.

Like many green energy interventions, the UK is currently behind the curve on where it needs to get to with respect to heat pumps. A recent NAO report suggested that heat pump installation would need to increase 11-fold to hit the target of 680,000 installations by 2028. Equally, we are quite short on the skills needed to reach this point. The UK requires 37,000 heat pump installers by the end of the decade according to a recent Nesta report. Currently, there are around 3,000 plying their trade, meaning we have to scale up to the tune of around 7,000 every year to hit the target. That’s a lot of heat pump installers.

It's this urgent, climate critical reality that is driving Reed Environment’s Energy Academies provision. Our joint venture with OEA currently has two state-of-the-art centres in Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire equipped with the facilities needed to train people as heat pump installers and in the full range of technologies necessary to realise green, net zero energy. In the months and years ahead, we are committed to working with local businesses and national and local government to meet the ambitious targets that must be realised to deliver the skills we need for a cleaner, greener future. It’s time to turn on more heat pumps.