The adoption of heat pumps by UK households is edging up, but it still faces significant barriers around knowledge, trust and installer training.

Trust remains a major issue, with more than four-in-five UK homeowners surveyed (86 per cent) distrusting the Government and believing it will not be impartial about the long-term impact of heat pumps, while 82 per cent say they have no faith in the advice of home heating companies about the performance of heat pumps and their impact on finances.

The figures come from a survey from managed services provider Correla in its Domestic Decarbonisation Index, based on research conducted among 2,000 UK households and 500 heat pump installers and HVAC engineers showed almost all installers surveyed (99 per cent) say they face barriers around training on heat pump technology, including time constraints, the complexity of the technology and a lack of skilled trainers.

With the Government targeting 450,000 heat pump installations per year by 2030 in line with its 2050 net-zero ambitions, and the research highlights a clear gap between the majority of households open to heat pumps (88 per cent) and the skills required to deliver this.

Despite these barriers, there are encouraging signs. 59 per cent of households that have installed a heat pump report saving money, while a further 18 per cent say their costs are roughly the same as their previous heating system, supporting a positive case for the technology.

“It is time to tackle the barriers holding back wider adoption of heat pump technology,” said Jason McLeod, chief product officer, Correla. “It’s encouraging that homeowners are willing to make the switch to heat pumps. The challenge is turning that willingness into action.”

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