- The Behavioural Insights Team says misinformation is preventing heat pump uptake
- The UK has the fewest heat pumps in Europe at just over 250,000
- The government aims to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028
The government has hired the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), a global research and innovation consultancy, to push back against the myths and misinformation surrounding heat pumps.
According to the BIT, misconceptions about heat pumps shared online are discouraging people from buying and installing them.
Toby Park, head of climate, energy and sustainability at BIT, described heat pumps as “a very efficient low-carbon system” adoption which is held back by “negative perceptions”.
“Sometimes scepticism is due to real market challenges, such as affordability, but doesn’t take into account the whole picture, such as the availability of grants,” Park explained.
“In other cases it can be due to myths such as the claim that heat pumps don’t work well in cold weather.”
The BIT has been awarded a £100,000 government contract containing details of unpublished research from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The research found that those who claimed they were knowledgeable on heat pumps were less likely to want one than those who were able to correctly answer a question about the low-carbon technology.
According to the contract, the media is sharing “negative, incorrect or exaggerated stories of heat pump adoption.”
Examples include claims that heat pumps are too noisy, too expensive to install, unreliable and unable to work in older buildings. Heat pumps, however, can work in most homes and are far more efficient than gas boilers on average, turning one unit of electricity into 2.5 – 5 units of heat.
Off the back of this data, BIT is in the process of collating a survey of householder’s views and media coverage of heat pumps that will be used to plan how the government fights misinformation.
Heat pump articles from the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph were also cited in the contract, saying that although the stories were, “generally well-founded, such as believing that heat pumps are expensive,” some included misconceptions such as heat pumps not working in cold weather.
Air-source heat pumps cost upwards of £12,500 to purchase and install, which is almost five times more expensive than a gas boiler. But, the government offers schemes such as ECO4, or a £7,500 grant by way of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to mitigate the cost for households.
It is trying to push the installation of 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028 as part of Britain’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050. Installations in the UK hit 42,000 in 2024, a record number.
Bean Beanland, director of growth & external affairs at the Heat Pump Federation, said that surpassing the total for 2023 alone shows just how much the BUS has encouraged homeowners.
