The government has announced that over £14m is being made available to accelerate the installation of heat pumps and heat networks.
Over £9.7 million will go towards four projects based across the country – helping to cut the costs of low carbon technologies, and reducing disruption to consumers by co-ordinating the widespread rollout in concentrated areas.
A new £5 million Heat Training Grant will support 10,000 trainees over the next two years to become low carbon heating experts. Grants of up to £500 will go towards training, with heating manufacturers such as Panasonic, Vaillant and Worcester Bosch expected to offer additional discounts to participating trainees.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Lord Callanan, said: “This funding will give the rollout of heat pumps a huge boost by making them cheaper and easier to install, and importantly helping more households move away from costly fossil fuels.
“But we need a skilled workforce to deliver this, so we’re training thousands of people to be experts at installing heat pumps and heat networks, driving the country’s push towards net zero.
“We’re also making sure the cost of installing a heat pump is more affordable than ever before through grants of up to £6,000 through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and a zero rate on VAT. So, it’s right we also put funding in place to train installers to meet demand.”
The Heat Training Grant will provide heating engineers with grants of up to £500 towards training, which could cover most of the cost of a level 3 heat pump course, which takes one week or less for an experienced gas or oil heating installer to complete. In addition, heating manufacturers including Baxi, NIBE, Panasonic, Vaillant, Ideal Heating and Worcester Bosch are expected to offer additional discounts and offers to participating trainees. These benefits could be worth up to a further £500 in product vouchers, additional training and other support, helping trainees put their new skills into practice.
The Heat Pump Association (HPA) has welcomed the Government’s Heat Training Grant. Phil Hurley, Chair of the HPA, said: “Installers are the most important ambassadors of heat pumps to the consumer, and the HPA warmly welcomes this scheme to support them build on their existing skill base to become the green heating installers of the future. This is exactly the sort of early-bird support we have called for.
“We already have the building blocks in place – our own training course and capacity among our members to train 40,000 installers per year. This government scheme will give the industry a real boost in helping installers upskill for heat pumps to take over from gas boilers as the go-to heating technology for new and replacement systems alike in the majority of homes.”
The companies listed above, along with many more from the heat pump sector, will be at InstallerSHOW at the NEC on June 27-29. You can now register for your free visitor pass.
