A new survey of heat pump installers has identified the main pain points surrounding the industry, focussing on customer misconceptions and issues with system design and specification.
Conducted by Heatly, the survey revealed there is still a firmly held view that heat pumps only work in newbuilds – 72% of respondents stated this was the most common customer barrier. When it comes to installation issues, over-sizing was the lead complaint, with over 50% of recipients reporting this as the biggest problem with heat pump specification.
Other barriers to take-up included consumers fearing heat pumps are too expensive to run at nearly 65% and a pervasive ideology that heat pumps don’t work in cold weather – more than 60% of respondents said they felt this was the greatest customer concern, despite widespread adoption in much colder parts of Europe. Noise concerns also featured highly, at just under 50%, something that can be countered by recent reports, such as NESTA’s, which proves modern heat pumps are no noisier than other household appliances, such as fridges (and gas boilers!)
Consumer misconceptions can be allayed by facts, case studies and increasing evidence that well installed heat pumps can work in (almost) any home. The survey showed, however, that some engineers still feel there are sticking points at the system design stage that need addressing.
Apart from oversizing, which can lead to inefficiencies and higher installation costs, 35% of installers in the survey felt that heat loss calculations sometimes failed to match real-world performance – over 20% stated that this happened often.
Issues with system design are being addressed by the latest digital tools, which standardise these processes and make them easier and more accurate for installers. Heatly is part of this trend, a new app due for launch next year that will streamline and speed up heat pump specification.
Training and experience are also key to improved heat pump outcomes. Anecdotally, respondents noted that while installers may have the right qualifications, practical skills and design expertise are often lacking. The sector as a whole needs to do more to support installers in their transition from trained to competent heat pump engineer. Relationships with manufacturers, for example, can provide installers with access to free product training and additional technical support.
Paul Spence, Technical Manager for Heatly, said: “The survey provides an interesting snapshot of installer’s views as we come to the end of what has been the most successful year for heat pumps to date. It’s great that the installation figures are on the up, but they still fall well short of where they need to be. Our findings show that consumer misconceptions still blight adoption, while highlighting areas where installers require further support, particularly at the design and specification stage.
“2025 looks to be the year where technology saves the day, and it is only a matter of time until the concerns highlighted in this survey become a thing of the past – digital tools are already becoming more commonplace to calculate accurate heat pump systems, future iterations of which could very well revolutionise the industry. Encouragingly, over 65% of recipients said they were overall confident in the accuracy of the software tools they use for design; a figure I expect to rise if we ask again in 12 months’ time. Consumer education and installer support are the key takeaways here, both crucial to the continued success of the heat pump roll out in the years ahead.”
To read the full survey, click here
