Why did we do this?

We believe that heat pumps will be instrumental to the decarbonisation of homes across the UK. For heat pumps to be normalised and to their use to grow at scale, we need a well informed user base who have a good experience and can advocate for heat pumps with their peers.

Ensuring a good level of heat pump efficiency is important to reduce running costs for the consumer and reduce overall electricity demand on the grid.

Improving the handover experience between installers and users can lead to a more efficient use of the heating system, reducing problems and unnecessary call backs.

What did we do?

Heat pump issue tracker

We gathered consumer-reported issues from a range of sources; online forums, support agencies and submitted questions. We found that people with heat pumps still often have knowledge gaps, questions, and often don’t know if their system is performing well or not.

Consumer & installer interviews

To understand the experience of getting a heat pump, the handover from installer to consumer and what information is usually provided. Installers are key to providing information at handover of a new system, but information and resources vary widely.

Content analysis

We mapped out content from online and printed resources, identified suitable content, information gaps and opportunities for new content. We have proposed resource content for new heat pump owners to help them to understand their system and pass that information on to others.

Opportunity maps

We have explored options for how to get heat pumps to consumers at the right time, through a variety of opportunities. We think it is important to work with others to produce the content and deliver it to consumers. We don’t see that as something Nesta is well positioned to do.

Complaints data analysis

We have analysed a dataset of 305 reported heat pump complaints over the last three years from RECC. Initial analysis has helped us to understand the nature of the complaints and to consider how a larger dataset could be of benefit to us and others