A live poll conducted among renewable heating installers found that nearly 80% predict future sector growth in the heat pump market, with running cost savings highlighted as the biggest driver.
The survey, taken at Daikin UK’s KEY Conference, revealed interesting insights into the impact of legislation and customer requirements on the current state and future direction of the renewable heating sector.
Prominent industry topics were explored, such as the changing awareness of heat pump technology, perceived barriers to growth, the demand for smart technologies as well as the impact of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and the set-up of the new Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
When considering the transfer of the energy remit from DECC into BEIS, half of those surveyed felt that the change would make no difference to the market, while nearly 20% felt that the heat pump sector should be more aligned with business and innovation.
Exploring the drivers of the heat pump market, 75% of respondents felt that running cost savings were the strongest incentive, with building regulations and an interest in new technology each being identified, and just 5% cited sustainability targets as the strongest driver.
This response was further supported by responses to ‘how strongly has the RHI driven heat pump sales’, with more than 40% of installers saying the RHI had been a strong driver, but 35% saying it had a modest influence on sales.
When asked whether awareness of heat pump technology among homeowners and specifiers had increased or decreased over the last two years, two thirds of the KEY Conference attendees believed that awareness had increased.
However when asked what was the biggest barrier to selling heat pumps, 53% of installers identified the cost compared with a boiler or other renewables, while 22% said that clients’ lack of understanding of the environmental or cost benefits remained a barrier to purchase.
Nancy Jonnsson, commercial director for domestic heating and renewables at Daikin UK said: “Increasing awareness of the cost saving benefits of heat pump technology is of paramount importance to ensure growth remains on an upward trajectory.”
For more information on the Daikin KEY Installer Scheme visit http://key.daikin.co.uk/
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