However, the EUA claims that the figure is likely to be more than 140,000 by 2028 to meet the roll-out target, given the time required to install heat pumps and the other operational and administrative tasks that normally occupy an installer’s time of heating.
Mr Foster added: “We both assume the target figure is wrong and will not deliver 600,000 heat pumps per year, and we also suggest ways in which the industry can help the government train more installers.” More than 40,000 heat pumps are installed in the UK in 2021.
The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council, a subsidiary of the EUA, will say in a report on Monday that to meet the roll-out targets, around 55,500 boiler installers will need to be promoted and 87,000 new heat pump installers will need to be trained . Forecasts show that by mid-2022 there were around 3,000 heat pump engineers in the UK.
The report suggests that heat pumps take around three times longer to install than a gas boiler and suggests similar working patterns to the typical gas fitter, who it says spends more than half their time on other tasks such as servicing, repairs and plumbing .
“The main aim of this work is to highlight that many more new installers are needed in the industry to meet the Government’s targets of installing 600,000 heat pumps by 2028,” he adds.
EUA represents companies that manufacture and install radiators, boilers, heat pumps, gas meters and heat transfer networks, including Worcestor Bosch and Baxi. It said the survey of installer numbers was led by a senior manager from Vaillant, which makes boilers and heat pumps in Belper, Derbyshire.
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