The new Vesta scheme invites people to visit homes already fitted with a heat pump so that they can see it running and talk directly to the homeowners who installed it. This will make it possible for potential new buyers of heat pumps to learn more about what having one operating in your home is actually like.
Currently, air source heat pumps are not installed in large numbers in the UK but they nevertheless provide an efficient and reliable form of low-carbon heating. Most UK citizens have never actually seen a heat pump, so it’s understandably difficult for them to envisage what owning and operating one might be like. The ‘Visit a Heat Pump’ aims to change this.
Nesta is offering to connect people who are potentially interested in installing a heat pump with homeowners who already have one operating in their home, and with experts in the industry who can tell them more about heat pumps and how they work.
The scheme is based on a pilot service launched by Nesta in 2022, involving 45 visitors. This enabled the firm to develop a viable model for the scheme, discover the detailed needs of users and hosts and develop a set of insights and clear recommendations for the future development of the service.
Nesta is now aiming to take this further so that the scheme can operate effectively at scale across the UK. The company will be building upon the existing service in order to deliver it to a wider range of users. This will enable the company to see how it works in different locations and for different users and also how it can become sustainabile in the long term in collaboration with Nesta’s partners.
The company aims to help the decarbonisation of household activities in the UK so that by 2030 the country will have reduced its household carbon emissions by 28 percent from 2019 levels and will be on track to reach zero by 2048.
To achieve this, the company is working with homeowners, local authorities, community energy groups, installers, manufacturers, consumer organisations and many other partners across the UK.
"The UK Government is continuing in its attempt to reach net zero emissions by 2050,and while they see the transition to heat pumps as one of the main technologies to help in the strategy to decarbonise homes across the UK, uptake has been much lower than expected” said Andy Kerr, founder of BOXT, a company that is aiming to help customers decarbonsise their homes, including through the installation of solar panels, heat pumps & EV chargers. “Even with the Government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which was first introduced in 2022 and can potentially save consumers £7,500 on their new heat pump installation, just 55,000 heat pumps were sold in the UK in 2022. This is significantly lower than the Government’s aim to have 600,000 heat pumps installed yearly by 2028. One of the main reasons for the slow uptake is the lack of understanding surrounding heat pumps. This is why it’s vital to encourage more communication and education about what heat pumps are, how to use them, and, importantly, what additional changes are required to different types and ages of homes for an efficient heat pump installation, to help encourage the adoption of them by a more informed consumer base.
The new ‘visit a heat pump’ scheme launched by charity Nesta is an important development in the efforts to encourage the switch to heat pumps. By enabling people to visit homes with heat pumps and ask questions about the low-carbon technology, this scheme will improve the UK’s understanding of heat pumps and help break down the barriers to their adoption. With a better understanding of the clean heating technology, it is likely more people across the UK will apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which is why industry leaders must focus on educating the public, as well as providing grants.”
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