Heat pump installation figures have increased noticeably since the onset of various Government incentive schemes and are set to rise further in 2013. Daikin Airconditioning UK Ltd (Daikin UK) says current installations are proving the savings that heat pumps can achieve – and with new funding being introduced, they predict that the market will grow further in 2013.
Government schemes, such as the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) and Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, have already been very successful in encouraging wider uptake of air-to-water heat pump technology. They are likely to pave the way for even more widespread heat pump installations, with further incentive schemes such as the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme, Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (Affordable Warmth) schemes being introduced in 2013.
A total of 2,492 vouchers have been claimed (to November 2012) for air-to-water source heat pump installations in Phases 1 and 2 of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme. The scheme provides a one-off payment for householders who purchase certain renewable energy measures, but entitlement to vouchers for air-to-water heat pumps is currently confined to those who do not, or have not recently had, gas heating.
The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme, which was the Government’s main domestic energy efficiency scheme implemented by the main energy supplier companies until the end of 2012, has achieved 6,617 heat pump installations to the end of September 2012.
Air-to-water heat pumps absorb heat from the air and convert it, via a condenser, into central heating and hot water systems. They provide a greener source of energy, lowering the household’s carbon emissions when compared to other types of fossil fuel based heating measures.
According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s statistical publication, published in December 2012, air source heat pump measures accounted for 44 per cent of total megawatt heat capacity within the RHPP scheme. From this DECC states that, ‘it is clear that the average capacity of installed air source heat pumps is greater than that of the other technologies.'