Government must not ignore commercial heat pumps
24th February 2023
UK: A leading heat pump equipment supplier has called for a greater awareness on sustainable solutions in the commercial and non-domestic sectors if the UK is to hit its net zero targets.
While all the emphasis this week has been on the domestic sector following the publication of a damning House of Lords environment committee report highlighting the low uptake of the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme, heat pump distributor Kooltech insists the commercial sector should not be forgotten.
Despite the poor performance of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) nearly all redemptions have been for installations in domestic properties since the scheme was launched last May. Kooltech points out that only 31 installations, or 0.4%, have been for non-domestic properties, even though emissions from non-domestic buildings account for around 22% of emissions from buildings and 4% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Lord’s committee called for ministers to raise awareness of the scheme among the public and homeowners. But awareness must also be increased in the commercial and non-domestic sectors if we are to hit our net zero targets,” said Kooltech commercial director Jonathan Brown.
“As a distributor of commercial heat pumps, we know how hard our customers (and the private sector more broadly) are working to support the green transition and the government must support this.
“The other major scheme, the non-domestic renewable heat incentive, has processed fewer than 1000 applications this year and is ending next month, having been extended twice because of slow uptake. The UK must do better,” Brown insisted.
“We need long-term support packages like those seen elsewhere on the continent. Poland has announced a £19 billion grant programme that could run until 2029. It dwarfs anything seen in the UK and Poland’s installation rate reflects this.”
Related stories:
Boiler upgrade scheme failing to deliver – 22 February 2023
UK: The government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) is failing to deliver on its objectives after seeing a “disappointingly low” take-up of grants, a new parliamentary report states. Read more…
Heat pump sales rise 120% in Poland – 9 February 2023
POLAND: Sales of heat pumps in Poland experienced a 120% rise in demand in 2022, as interest in the renewable heating technology booms across Europe. Read more…
