A new report has been issued by the Heat Pump Association (HPA) that outlines the steps that the UK Government must take to shape future policy and decarbonise the heating industry. The HPA says that it hopes to substantially shake up existing frameworks and introduce regulatory, impactful, and meaningful changes in the heating sector, paving the way for the mass deployment of low carbon heating.

The four main aims of the report are to:

  1. Promote changes to establish infrastructure in existing homes for low carbon heating
  2. Build and develop installer skills for the recommended changes
  3. Lower fuel bills for existing heating systems
  4. Lower carbon emissions for existing heating systems

The HPA says that the report will provide enough detail to influence civil servants and policy makers on the benefits of implementing these changes, as well communicating the benefits to the industry. It sets out to ‘level the playing field’ across all heating types, encouraging best practice and low carbon heating for all installations, regardless of technology type. This, it is argued, will ensure the smooth transformation of the domestic heating market from fossil fuels to low carbon technologies over the next decade, reducing fuel bills and carbon emissions from homes.

The report’s key recommendations can be summarised as three points:

  1. Introduce a maximum flow temperature of 55℃ in Building Regulations to be applied to replacement heating systems from 2026
  2. Introduce in Building Regulations for Heat Loss Calculations to be carried out for all replacement heating systems from 2026.
  3. All heating installers to have a Low Temperature Heating and Hot Water Qualification, or equivalent, as part of accreditation scheme refresher courses.

It is claimed that the implementation of these recommendations will lay the groundwork for wider heat pump adoption, by establishing the heating infrastructure in homes and the necessary installation skills required for low carbon heating installations.

“This report could not come at a more pertinent time,” says Graham Wright, chairman of the HPA. “The push for a Green Recovery from Covid-19 has put the UK in a unique position to be able to develop new and innovative policy that works to tackle the negative effects of the pandemic whilst working towards net zero. The regulations suggested in this paper undoubtably offer the Government a road to recovery for the heating industry that is green and saves energy and money for the UK.”

Link to the full report: http://ow.ly/m8zE50ChUvH