Was I corrupted by the gas boiler lobby?
...and a first person account on why the Swedes love to pump
đ€„ Evidence of a smear campaign
đ« BBC and FT on the headaches
đ The wrong sweetener
đ©đȘ How heat pumps became politicised in Germany
đžđȘ A Swede tells Field7 why 70% of the country already use heat pumps
Pumping out negativity
I had a few people email me on the back of my previous newsletter. If you missed it, it was a tragicomedy of how a man (me) failed to get the object of his dreams (a heat pump) with doors closing at every turn.
Iâve subsequently learned of a potential villain in the story, thwarting my pursuit: the gas boiler lobby.
A day or so after I posted, a report emerged revealing a PR firm had been behind a rash of stories trashing heat pumps.
The PR was hired by The Energy and Utilities Association for over two years. (Incidentally, the PR agency reportedly responsible for the smear campaign breathlessly boasts about its environmental credentials on its website).
Hereâs a line from the original report:
Negative stories about electric heat pumps have featured in outlets such as The Sun, Telegraph and The Express, in which damning headlines dub the technology âSoviet-styleâ, âfinancially irrationalâ as well as âcostly and noisyâ. Broadcast media has amplified similar messages on BBC 2âs Newsnight, LBC, TalkTV and GB News.
Was I also guilty of doing the gas lobbyâs bidding? (Albeit inadvertently).q I received an unsettling message from a pal:
âYour heat pump piece reads like it was commissioned by the Mail but written by someone at the Guardian.â
Another said:
âYou should seriously talk to a green energy consultant/installer; they are the pros. Plumbers are all incentivised to sell you gas đ€. Plumbers are to blame for greenbotching.â
Taking the heat out of heat pumps
Others, however, said my experience resonated with their own. They too were defeated by the prospective cost, complexity and risk attached to switching from boiler to heat pump.
I am sadly not going to join the 3,000 households installing heat pumps every month this year.
The BBCâs climate editor, Justin Rowlatt (below), recently published a fascinating story alongside an hour long episode on why heat pumps are still not taking off at the speed required. (Still available on iPlayer).
Rowlatt said the ÂŁ5,000 grant was not enough, 4,000 trained heat-pump installers arenât enough, the running costs in the UK arenât cheap enough and people are concerned their homes wonât be hot enough.
And this week the FT published an in-depth piece too.
Switching heating systems is costly and complicated for homeowners, holding back demand.
One of its conclusions was that poor take up in the UK is a result of a government subsidy quirk where the potential savings from using electricity instead of gas are relatively small. The FT also cited planning permission for many households wishing to install a heat pump as another stumbling block stymieing momentum. âItâs enough to put off all but the most determined,â the FT quoted a spokesperson from Octopus Energy.Â
Subsidies and savings
The government can do a better job in skewing the financial incentive away from gas boilers and towards electricity-powered heat pumps. It would require bringing down the bill a household faces for a heat pump unit, upgrading radiators AND installation. A well overdue review in energy subsidies canât come soon enough.
âIt is essential that the lowest-carbon heat becomes the lowest-cost heat,â said a spokesman for heat pump federation.
The UK government gave out ÂŁ20bn more in subsidies to fossil producers than renewables since 2015. Whether the Labour party are willing to right this wrong will be one to watch when it spells out its energy policy in the coming months.
Installers are needed in bigger numbers too. A big jump is needed to go from the current army of 4,000 people capable of fitting heat pumps to the 50,000 target the government has set out. Around 850 new installers have become accredited so far this year.
The best way to motivate people to train up would be if tons of people were clamouring for this cleaner way to heat their homes.
And it comes back to creating confidence that the technology works, making the savings more attractive and removing any pain associated with installation.
One Dutch startup recently raised âŹ15m as a one-stop-shop. The wonderfully named HeatTransformers is apparently gearing up to expand to the UK and Germany.
Confidence that it would work in the UK remains a concern. The always brilliant Hannah Ritchie posted the chart below, noting how far ahead countries colder than the UK are in installing heat pumps.
Heat pumps have become Germanyâs Ulez
Germanyâs coalition government was dealt a blow in June when the far right AfD party won its first district. Olaf Scholzâs proposed boiler ban was cited as a critical factor in swaying the vote.
Germany has for long been ahead of other advanced countries with renewable energy and the goal of 500,000 heat pump installations every year from next year is seen as a critical battle in its goal of net zero by 2045. (Side note 1: the Schleswig region was the first area in Germany to get all its energy from renewable sources 10 years ago. Schleswig is twinned with Uxbridge.)
The Scholz government is planning to enshrine a new law in the autumn where at least 65% of new buildings will have to be powered by renewable energy.
The Germans are serious about it. Sales of heat pumps have been doubling, fuelled by tempting subsidies to German households which can cover up to a quarter of the upfront cost. It is also subsidising insulations and other things households can do to curtail fossil burning.
Itâs the savings that are driving take-up, the surveys reveal. This, after all, is the country of geiz ist geil (stinginess is cool).
Thereâs also evidence of another national stereotype, practical skills, being in evidence. Germans are apparently installing the units themselves in large numbers, using online tutorials. The country is also home to two of the big heat pump manufacturers: Vaillant and Bosch. Both companies are investing in training people on installations for anyone not willing to install one themselves.
(Side note 2: I was consistently told it was impossible to install a heat pump anywhere except on a wall outside the building. This image was posted by Chris Carus while he was in the Netherlands.)
The word from Sweden
Lennart Andersson is one of over a million people to have installed a heat pump in Sweden. He installed heat pumps in his house near Götene, a town two hours north-east of Gothenburg. I spoke to him to get his experience and understand what the UK could learn.
âYou will save a lot of money and itâs no risk. No one would install an old boiler now. This is just what you do and itâs been like that for a while.â
Lennart, cost and complexity is an issue with installing heat pumps in the UK. Does that ring true with your experience?
Well cost, maybe. The installation and set up costs the equivalent of ÂŁ8,000 for an air-to-air unit. Today it costs a bit more but the units are a lot more sophisticated with more software in them. The geo thermal ones cost about double (ground to air) and they are much more popular in Sweden now. They offer much bigger savings in energy usage, they are more reliable, completely silent and donât take up the space on the side of your house.
What about complexity? Were there any challenges?
It was very simple. We called a supplier, an electrician came here, with some added skills to do the mounting. It took three hours to do and they were gone.Â
Funnily enough the person who installed was someone who was a tailor in the village who made the dress for my wife which she wore to my daughterâs wedding. Two years ago when we bought the heat pumps we found out that she had changed her occupation and became an electrician. When she showed up it was a big surprise! In some way it shows how much you can retrain as a heat pump installer. Itâs not too complicated.
What was your motivation behind installing heat pumps?
Saving on energy costs and adding value to the property. And, of course, everything that reduces emissions is a good thing.
How much have you saved on energy costs?
Itâs probably down by at least 40 per cent and thatâs being conservative. People I know with geothermal / ground to air units, my understanding is itâs closer to a 50 per cent to 60 per cent saving.
Did you have any anxiety going into it?
None. This technology has been around for 10 to 15 years here in Sweden. The track record has been very good. In the very early days there was some compressor failures and some people made a fortune selling insurance.
Why do you think Sweden has made such strides with heat pump adoption?
In simple terms, we started a very long time ago and there arenât many of us.
Heat pumps have been around since 2000. I also think the installers were always quite enthusiastic and found it interesting.
Was there ever government subsidy?
No, but we get a bit of money for solar panels. I think the more relevant issue is the messaging is very clear and the process is very simple: you will save a lot of money and itâs no risk. No one would install an old boiler now. This is just what you do and itâs been like that for a while.
If you were the UK energy minister, what would you do?
I would encourage heat pumps in areas where it is not so dense in the first instance. In detached houses outside big cities away from terraced houses.
I would strongly advocate for geothermal from the outset.
I would have a central system for an entire city, like an energy station which produces hot water and distributes it like your gas network. Itâs remote heating and very efficient.
I would drive solar panels as much as possible. People donât always realise that there are so many big buildings with large roof areas.
I would really emphasise how dangerous and old fashioned it is to be powered by gas power - itâs not sustainable for a country like the UK on any level.
Thank you for reading this newsletter. I promise Iâll give heat pumps a break for a bit now.
Do email soheb@field7.co with feedback and ideas on what to feature.
Soheb