Will Heinzelmann, product director at Passiv UK looks at heat pump take up on the UK.
Heat pumps will play a crucial role in the UK’s transition to sustainable, low-carbon domestic heating. For government and industry to meet ambitious heat pump targets (600,000 installed annually by 2028) they must make them the most attractive heating option for the public. But despite current efforts, only 60,244 were sold in the UK in 2023 according to the Heat Pump Association. If heat pumps are going to be the solution to the UK’s low-carbon heating challenge, they need to be green, affordable, easy to install, simple to use, and popular with the public. And at the moment, they just aren’t.
One of the current barriers to heat pump deployment is the lack of suitable controls. Unlike heat pumps, gas boilers are quite forgiving because they operate at a higher flow temperature, which allows for a more flexible approach to control. This means you can probably get away with ‘jabbing away at a thermostat until it does something’. For heat pumps, things get a lot more complicated. Operating at a lower flow temperature means they take longer to heat up a home, so having controls that are easy to use is important for maintaining comfort and efficiency.
Current heat pump controls are not easy to use. One study found that when presented with a typical heat pump thermostat, just 23% of people are able to set a heating schedule – one of the most basic and vital functions of any heating controller. Why is this? Partly, it’s because most heat pump controls haven’t been designed for controlling heat pumps. Heat pump manufacturers generally fall into two categories – they are either air conditioning manufacturers or boiler manufacturers who now make heat pumps. And unfortunately, they tend to use the same controls for their heat pumps that they use for their air conditioners or boilers.
The latest generation of smart controls make comfort simpler and take the guesswork out of operating a heat pump. By learning how a home heats up and cools down, heat pump smart thermostats calculate how a heating system performs and how a home reacts to the outside temperature and weather. They use this information, alongside a local weather forecast for the next 24 hours, to start heating a home and hot water at exactly the right time. This same smart preheating technology can also increase a heat pump’s efficiency by 17%, lowering heating bills and making heat pumps more affordable.
Heat pump smart thermostats can be managed by an app giving complete control of a heat pump regardless of where you are. However, the latest systems can also be operated without a smartphone or even internet connection. Smart heat pump controls shouldn’t only be for the tech-savvy. They need to be accessible, easy to use and suitable for anyone who has a heat pump. You can’t guarantee that people will have an internet connection or smartphone, or that they will want to use these things to manage their heating and hot water.
Smart, automated controls are also already helping householders to earn money with their heat pump. To ensure that electricity supply remains secure, heat pumps will have to form part of a smart, flexible energy system and be capable of adjusting their operation in response to national electricity requirements - something called Demand Side Response or DSR. The continued uptake of domestic flexibility provides an exciting new opportunity for heat pump owners and allows customers to earn money through the devices they use - a win for the wallet and the planet!
With the government’s promise to build 1.5m new homes over the next five years, implementing low-carbon standards and zero-carbon homes at volume will require technology to support it. And if heat pumps are going to be the main solution for decarbonising the UK’s heating, they need to work for everyone and that means having simpler controls. Making heat pumps more user-friendly and ensuring proper installation will pave the way for a greener, more efficient heating solution for homes across the UK.