Heating engineers across Britain are being urged to take up the offer to install a government-funded heat pump in their own homes, as part of efforts to roll out this clean technology.
Research and innovation company Nesta is running a “start at home” initiative to provide heating engineers with a funded heat pump and training on how to install it, so they can learn the ropes before adapting the technology to customers.
The initiative comes after a Nesta pilot scheme found that helping heating engineers install their first heat pump in their home increased their technical knowledge, their understanding of how to live with the technology and their confidence in promoting it to customers.
Experts warn that large-scale deployment of clean heat pumps powered by electricity is key to replacing the widespread use of gas boilers in homes to reduce carbon emissions as part of goals to reduce greenhouse gases to “net zero” by 2050.
That means installing about 450,000 heat pumps in existing homes annually by 2030, which will require 38,000 more trained and confident installers to install heat pumps before then, Nesta said.
The organization said heat pumps were more efficient than gas boilers, potentially reducing energy bills, and tended to require less maintenance and last longer, keeping homes warm for years.
But Nesta pointed to research by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) that suggests only 27% of newly trained installers completed an installation within a year, partly due to a lack of confidence in the technology and installation process.
That's why the Start at Home program is being rolled out with partners across England, Wales and Scotland, providing thermal engineers with heat pumps for their own homes and expert support, and putting them on the path to the accreditation needed to install the technology for customers under government schemes.
Madeleine Gabriel, director of sustainable future at Nesta, said: “As more and more households look to change their home heating, it will be all hands on deck, and we want to help ensure the British heating workforce is ready to respond.
“Although many heating engineers are curious about heat pumps, many rarely have the opportunity to see one, let alone install one.
“The 'start at home' scheme changes that by starting where it makes the most sense: at home.
“Our message to all heating engineers is simple: secure your future by practicing installation technology yourself.”
Eric MacRae, a heating engineer who took part in the pilot across Scotland, added: “I am now confident that I have one up and running on my own property and that I have experience with it 24/7.
“Instead of giving people a spiel, I can now speak from personal experience of using it myself.
“It's giving me an extra advantage and I feel like I can highlight more advantages than I would have been able to before.”
