Building the Installer Base for Net Zero Heating supporting a ‘green recovery’

Today the Heat Pump Association published a new report which NIBE Energy Systems is pleased to have contributed to. The report outlines the essential role of heating installers in achieving net zero and puts forward recommendations to support them in upskilling and retraining. Specifically, the Heat Pump Association sets out a proposed route to becoming a heat pump installer and seeks Government support to for low carbon heat deployment to generate demand.

The importance of installers to the transition to low carbon heating is paramount, they are the linchpin for the decarbonisation of heat. The upskilling of heating installers provides the potential for long-term job growth at the same time as helping to achieve net zero emissions; something that could form an important part of a ‘green recovery’.

Installers are the main contact with the homeowner and how installers engage with households is a fundamental part of the sector. The report however states that to achieve net zero, the number of trained heat pump installers must increase substantially.

These numbers will be achieved only if the Government puts a supportive and wide-ranging decarbonisation policy mix in place at the same time as industry efforts to ensure that the typical SME installer business is engaged and trained on heat pump installations. With a clear commitment from both industry and government this growth will be kickstarted. The Report contains five clear steps for installers to be trained to meet the new challenges we face in trying to achieve the UK goal of a zero carbon future.

Phil Hurley, Managing Director of NIBE Energy Systems said “As Vice-Chair of the Heat Pump Association, I fully support the recommendations outlined in this report and I am pleased to have contributed to the development of the proposals. The role of installers in meeting net zero cannot be underestimated. We are proud to be working with installers across the UK providing training and support, however Government will also play an important role in ensuring the right policy mechanisms are in place”.

The Report was published alongside two industry consultations on proposed training courses, seeking views from installers on the new training strategy for heat pump installers. Details of the consultations can be found here.

Notes:

• The Committee on Climate Change has recommended that a widespread transformation from boilers to heat pumps and other low carbon heating systems will need to take place in the next 10-15 years; the industry bodies backing these criteria consider them essential to ensuring sufficient heating engineers are equipped with the necessary training and skills to bring about a challenging, but achievable acceleration of low carbon heating.

• The criteria for the generic Low Temperature Heating course have been developed by the Chartered Institute of Heating and Plumbing Engineers, and for the Heat Pump course, by the Heat Pump Association, both in wide consultation with manufacturers, and other industry bodies.

• The Heat Pump Association Report can be found here

• The consultation documents can be found here

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