Upskilling installers for the roll out of heat pumps
With just three decades to rapidly scale up heat pump installations, the Heat Pump Association (HPA) launched a new training course this August to upskill the UK’s army of heating installers.
Welcomed by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng described the news as a ‘great example of how government and industry can work together to accelerate progress and create the high-skilled jobs needed to make homes greener are ore energy efficient.’
As we keenly await the Heat and Buildings Strategy, the heat pump industry has demonstrated that – with the right support and signals from government – it is ready and able to deliver on the 600,000 heat pump deployment target set out in the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan.
A significant 40,000 installers per year could theoretically be trained across our own membership alone, with 38 training centres spread across the country.
This capacity stands us in good stead to ensure that the heating installer numbers grow – and keep on growing – on the road to 2028, and beyond. By 2050, 19 million heat pumps will need to be rolled out into homes to meet the UK’s net zero target according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), leaving us with just three decades to rapidly scale up installations.
These installations cannot be carried out unless we address the skills shortage, hence our decision to overhaul the heat pump training route to prepare existing heating installers for the inevitable phase out of fossil fuels. Working with others across industry, we have endeavoured to ensure that the new pathway is as simple and as accessible as possible so that trained heating engineers, who already understand the fundamentals of heating, are both willing and able to upskill for the future.
What does the new training route look like?
First and foremost, it is essential that all heating installers have the knowledge and skills they need to install all heating systems to perform more efficiently.
A significant 40,000 installers per year could theoretically be trained across our own membership alone, with 38 training centres spread across the country.
This is crucial to the Government’s climate targets and will deliver immediate benefits in terms of costs and carbon savings. As such, the training route begins with CIPHE’s Low temperature and Hot Water course that covers essential skills for efficient heating that apply to all technology types. This course covers heat loss calculations, hydraulic balancing, pipe and emitter sizing, and low flow temperature heating, and has been positioned as a prerequisite for any technology-specific training taken up later on.
Heat Pump Foundation Course
Our simplified heat pump training pathway has been split into two parts. First, heating installers can gain the knowledge they need to install a heat pump by taking a 2-day Heat Pump Foundation Course. This will provide an overview of heat pumps in addition to installation guidelines, commissioning and servicing and end user training.
Individual Heat Pump Technology Course
Following completion of the Heat Pump Foundation Course, installers can gain an understanding of each technology type through 1-day courses offered in both air source and ground source heat pumps, including hybrids, with plans to extend to other heat pump technologies.
Levelling the Playing Field Between Heating Technologies
The HPA is proud to have developed a revised training route to support the Government in ensuring its heat pump deployment targets can be successfully met, but we are all too aware that the higher costs associated with heat pump accreditation contradicts the net zero transition.
In our report, Building the Installer Base for Net Zero Heating, we called on the Government to address this issue by levelling the playing field between heating technologies. This could be done through the introduction of regulatory measures that require all heating installers, who are already required to undertake Accreditation Certification Scheme (ACS) refresher courses every five years, to undertake the Low Temperature and Hot Water course as part of their modules.
As steps are taken to prepare the UK for a net zero economy, we must make sure that we are all talking the same language. With the help of the Government, the HPA is ready to ensure that heating installers are on board so that households across the country can enjoy the benefits of low carbon heating. With all hands to the pump, it’s a challenge that can be overcome.
Further details on how heating industry professionals can find and book a course can be found below.
HPA Course Bookings
Courses are being offered by HPA members and must be booked directly with the course provider via the links below.
Grant UK | www.grantuk.com/professional/training
Mitsubishi Electric | les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/installers/installer-training
NIBE Energy Systems | nibepro@nibe.co.uk | Register Your NIBE Pro Interest – NIBE
Panasonic | Heatpumptraining@eu.panasonic.com
Samsung Electronics | training.ac@samsung.com
Worcester BOSCH | www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/professional/training
Courses will also be made available through other members of the HPA, which include:
