The energy provider says the planned launch of the UK Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) will be an important early step in supporting its plans to deliver affordable low-carbon heating in England and Wales
Octopus Energy expects to install thousands of heat pumps in UK homes this year, thanks to a multi-million pound investment in its training and technical capabilities.
The energy provider, which aims to focus on more sustainable energy, said the upcoming government Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) will be an important tool to help build and incentivise consumer demand for low-carbon thermal energy.
It joins other UK energy suppliers such as British Gas in pledging to expand its capacity to supply and service heat pumps from this year as part of a wider push to electrify UK buildings and infrastructure to curb carbon emissions.
Octopus Energy told H&V News it had started installing “a small number” of heat pumps and was now looking to ensure improved economies of scale to bring these technologies into homes.This ambition will be supported by a commitment to reduce the overall time required for installation.
The BUS Incentive Scheme, which aims to provide £5,000 to domestic and smaller non-residential properties in England and Wales to install air source heat pumps as a direct replacement for fossil fuel boilers, will start this year and is currently scheduled to run until 2025.Homes will also be given £5,000 and £6,000 to cover the cost and installation of a biomass boiler or ground source heat pump respectively.
Octopus Energy expects the funding to be made available through the scheme to be an important means of covering the up-front costs of low-carbon technologies – at least initially.
“We hope to be able to offer heat pumps in many homes for roughly the same price as a regular gas boiler, combined with government grants,” the company said.
“As we build, install and sell more heat pumps alongside government funding, we hope to be able to reduce the price of heat pumps to levels comparable to normal gas boilers without funding. Again, this will be achieved by achieving economies of scale and Octopus Energy The Group is known for the same relentless focus on efficiency to achieve.”
Octopus Energy added that during 2021, an estimated 60,000 heat pumps will be installed nationwide, a 50 percent increase from the previous year.However, this figure is still far behind the more than 1 million gas boilers sold in the UK each year.
The energy provider said it has begun training hundreds of installers to provide heat pump systems, and the company alone expects to install thousands into homes within this year alone.Octopus Energy has also invested more than £10 million in the Clean Heat R&D Research Centre in Slough, which is looking at how to support a variety of different building types, such as apartments with heat pumps.
The company’s main focus in building a more affordable and efficient heat pump industry is to provide systems for the easiest homes to install.As the market develops, it will look at more difficult and less efficient properties.
The company defines easier-to-install properties as two- to four-bed detached and semi-detached homes, as well as large terraced homes built between the 1930s and 1990s.
Octopus Energy said: “This allows us to target up to 40% of the UK’s housing stock immediately and enables our engineering team to install it easier and faster.”
“We will focus on supplying properties with average sized residential air source heat pumps with minimal maintenance and insulation where required. Larger Victorian properties with poor insulation – although currently one of the largest customer groups for heat pumps — but not always the best choice for a heat pump because of its ventilation.”
From a technical standpoint, Octopus Energy told H&V News it would work with a number of system manufacturers to offer heat pumps capable of working in most UK homes at the lowest possible price.
The company added that it is also focused on delivering proprietary solutions thanks to its R&D investments, with more major announcements expected later.
It added: “All our heat pumps will come with a warranty as standard and we will be able to arrange monthly repairs for our customers if required.”
“While the benefit of heat pumps is of course much lower maintenance costs and they have a lifespan of 20 years compared to the 10-15 years expected for gas boilers, frequent repairs and maintenance should not be the average heat pump user experience.”
You can hear more from Octopus Energy and other heat pump experts in the H&V News Heating Cast of what mass electrification of the industry could mean for our buildings and electricity networks, starting in 2020, available here or below listen on the player.