Clean Growth Strategy, 2018
The UK's Clean Growth Strategy outlined a long-term plan to promote clean growth and low-carbon technologies, including heat pumps. It focused on improving energy efficiency in buildings and supporting the installation of low-carbon heating systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Future Homes Standard, 2021
The Future Homes Standard was proposed to raise the energy efficiency standards for new homes, including requirements for low-carbon heating systems. Heat pumps were expected to play a crucial role in meeting the standard's targets for reducing carbon emissions from the residential sector.
Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition, 2023
This competition provided grant funding of up to £15 million per project for major investments in the manufacture of heat pumps and strategically important components.
Public investment
The UK government has committed to spending £6.6 billion from 2021 to 2025 in public funding to decarbonise homes and businesses, with policies including the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (2022), Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (2021) and Boiler Upgrade Scheme (2022). Furthermore, the country has committed to £6 billion from 2025 to 2028, which includes an extension of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme until at least 2028.
Building regulations
The UK government continuously updates building regulations to set minimum standards for energy efficiency in new and existing buildings. These regulations encourage the use of heat pumps and other renewable heating technologies to comply with the efficiency requirements.
Carbon budgets and net zero targets
The UK set legally binding carbon budgets as part of its commitment to the Climate Change Act. The carbon budgets served as milestones for emissions reductions and heat pumps were seen as an essential tool to achieve these targets. The government's long-term goal was to reach net
zero emissions by 2050, which would heavily rely on decarbonising heating systems with technologies like heat pumps.
Training and skills investments
The UK government has already committed £15 million since 2020 through the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training Fund (2022), supporting over 16,000 training opportunities in energy efficiency, retrofit and low carbon heating sectors across England. In Scotland, £1.49 million of funding has been made available through the National Transition Training Fund (2021), to support over 3,350 participants to access courses for heat pump, energy efficiency and retrofit construction skills.
