It is already worth billions of pounds and is said to be the fastest-growing sector in the region. DERIN CLARK reports on the surging heat pump industry
The era of the traditional gas boiler is coming to an end.
But in its wake a new industry is emerging and East Anglia is at the forefront of this heating revolution.
Heat pump installation is a booming sector and is predicted to only get bigger as a combination of government incentives and high gas prices sees more commercial and domestic property owners switch to the new heating system.
"This must absolutely be the fastest-growing industry in the region," said Guy Ransom from Norfolk heat pump firm Finn Geotherm.
"The only other sectors that could possibly compete are electric vehicles and solar panels.
"More than 95pc of homes throughout the UK are still heated by fossil fuels so it is a virtually untapped market."
Figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that in 2019 there were just 30,000-35,000 heat pumps sold throughout the UK, but it estimates this will surge as the sector aims to meet the government's target of 600,000 installations per year by 2028.
In terms of its economic value, research from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) found that the sector could be worth more than £5.5bn to the economy and create thousands of low-carbon jobs.
Locally, firms across the region are at the forefront of this rapidly growing industry.
Based in Attleborough, Finn Geotherm was established in 2006 and supplies and installs heat pumps for homeowners, councils and businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk, as well as throughout the UK.
The business is anticipating a significant expansion in the coming years and is investing in extending its offices to meet its future needs, including the recruitment of more staff.
"We are currently looking for an assistant quotation manager to join our team of 22, but as we grow we are planning to recruit more staff throughout the business," added Mr Ransom.
Since its launch, the types of customers looking to install heat pumps has evolved.
"When we started we found that more of our clients were rural homeowners," said Mr Ransom.
"We did lots of farmhouses, barn conversions, and standalone properties where there was the land around.
"I think people in the early days were a little more worried about installing air source heat pumps, but for sure that has changed.
"Air source technology has got a lot better, a lot more reliable and efficient and we're seeing more urban houses where people are wanting heat pumps."
This rise has been due to a combination of concerns about high gas prices and government incentives to encourage the installation of more energy-efficient heating systems.
To help increase the number of heat pump installations, the government is offering homeowners in England and Wales grants for £5,000 towards a new air source heat pump and £6,000 towards a ground source system.
Another notable difference Mr Ransom has noticed is the uptake in local authorities and commercial property owners buying heat pumps.
"We have seen a quite significant swing over the years from being almost solely domestic homeowners to the point where now two-thirds of what we do is for commercial properties.
"We are finding there is an increase in interest from local authorities like West Suffolk Council and we also did 17 projects last year with King's Lynn Council, including on leisure centres and their main council building."
Abel Homes, a housing developer that builds homes across the region, including developments in Watton, Swaffham and Wymondham, installs heat pumps in all its new builds.
"We are building 150 homes a year and every new site that we are now starting we are installing air source heat pumps," said Paul Legrice, managing director of the firm.
"They are becoming more and more sought after as part of an overall package of energy efficiency measures, particularly with everything going on now with the fuel crisis.
"A vast majority of people who are enquiring about new homes are asking about energy efficiency."
Although the industry is booming, Mr Legrice has not had difficulty in sourcing the heating systems.
"There has been a general shortage of building materials across the board within the last 12-18 months, but we haven't had a problem obtaining air source heat pumps.
"I think it is a growing technology, new build homes aren't going to be able to use fossil fuel sources of energy from 2025 onwards, so undoubtedly more and more new homes will have heat pumps so there's going to be a growing demand out there.
"I know a lot of the manufacturers are already gearing up to produce more air source heat pumps to meet that demand."
Mr Ransom said that the "technology is already at a very advanced stage", but highlights some challenges facing the sector such as the UK's electrical infrastructure "which is 50 years out of date".
He added: "But we are lucky in this country that we have a good supply of renewable electricity so if we can use heat pumps systems to harness that renewable electricity and turn it into 4kwh of perfectly clean zero carbon heat that has to be the way to go."
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