3. Create a targeted scheme to guide homeowners towards heat pumps
Even if some aspects of getting homes heat pump ready were made smoother as suggested above, it is still worth exploring how to enable homeowners to proactively prepare for a heat pump. Homebuyers and those planning renovations are in the best position to think about heat pump readiness as they are already making changes to their home.
People typically don't know what a heat pump installation will involve for them until they receive a quote. Providing personalised and reliable information at the right time could help them prepare their home over time. A ‘heat pump readiness’ assessment – like the one we tested with homeowners – could offer a step-by-step guide toward the transition, linking necessary actions to natural events like renovations and boiler servicing so that the steps feel timely and manageable. In response, households could:
- reserve or create space for a hot water tank, or avoid exchanging a boiler for a combi boiler without a water tank
- if exchanging a water cylinder, choose one that is heat pump-suitable
- if doing work in the garden, keep space for an outdoor unit
- if installing new radiators or wet underfloor heating, choose options that are compatible with a heat pump
Who should give the advice and when?
Our research suggests that consumers tend to have more confidence in advice given by a credible independent body as opposed to someone who installs heat pumps (or accompanying measures such as insulation). Ideally, any heat pump-ready service would be delivered in partnership with an independent body.
Local authorities or local retrofit partnerships could leverage their existing relationship with residents. They could contact every new homeowner and refer them to a website where they would be instructed to complete a simple survey, without anyone needing to come into the home. Alternatively, they could send out general information about heat pump readiness to every new homeowner. If data about boiler age currently held by the Gas Safe Register were released to governments, then local authorities could also target households whose boiler is nearing the end of its life, and tailor their recommendations based on boiler age. Local authorities could include individual information about permitted development and connection readiness provided by the DNO in their reports to households.
The future Warm Homes Agency is described in the Warm Homes Plan as a digital-first advice and information platform that will act as a national spine for consumer advice. Such a body should be able to provide guidance on making homes ready for heat pumps. Implementing a set of simple principles, households could receive trustworthy “readiness” guidance.
Energy suppliers could be well placed to deliver energy assessments since they have the resources needed and an existing relationship with their customers. With a simple assessment not requiring a visit by a specialist, the company could simply process data provided by the customer or outsource data collection to a smart meter installer. Beyond smart meter installations, other relevant trigger points are solar panel, battery or EV charger installations and new customer acquisition (people often switch suppliers when they move homes, which is a relevant time for thinking about a heat pump).
Surveyors could also play a role. About 1 in 4 homebuyers commission a survey of their new property to check for faults and risks (while Home Reports are legally mandated for all sold properties in Scotland). Surveyors are regulated by RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and could be mandated to add a standardised heat pump readiness assessment to their routine.
How detailed should the advice be?
It is difficult to design a heat pump readiness advice scheme that is accurate and personalised, whilst limiting costs. Using home heating professionals to deliver heat pump readiness advice and requiring a home visit adds significant cost.
Using a standardised photo and video-based tool that the homeowner or anyone who isn’t a qualified heating engineer would lower costs. This approach could enable radiator sizing recommendations and estimates of the impact of any insulation, but couldn’t then, under current regulations, be used for later heat pump design.
Many companies are already relying on smart-scanning tools for heat-loss calculations. If large installers trusted the way other firms calculate heat loss, or if several installers could rely on the same third-party calculations, homeowners could have much longer and smoother journeys toward heat pumps – for example, getting a survey done now and a heat pump fitted years later by a different company. For that to work, the installer taking on the job would need confidence that the original survey met current MCS requirements, because they remain responsible for the accuracy of the heat-loss calculation when issuing the MCS certificate.
Our user research suggests that homeowners would prefer the report to include reliable cost projections. But then, in most cases, the type of homeowner who would benefit most from a heat loss survey that can be used for heat pump system design would be better served by getting a heat pump quote from an installer instead of a ‘heat pump readiness’ report. Many holistic independent assessments are also available on the market already, commercially (such as Warmur or Thermly) or locally, sometimes supported by local authorities (Loco Homes Retrofit, Futureproof).
For the rest of homeowners – those who are not close to getting a heat pump – simple information about what heat pumps are and what they generally need to function in a home might then suffice, such as advice to reserve space for a hot water cylinder.
Can readiness advice be cost-effective?
To reach households that are not yet interested in getting a heat pump, government funding would be needed for developing or purchasing a tool that gives people readiness guidance and for communicating with householders. The more personalised the advice is, the more costly it would be, while also requiring more engagement from the householder, who, if they aren’t considering a heat pump yet, should not be expected to engage actively.
Guidance on preparing homes for heat pumps is needed. But this advice should be narrowly targeted, should not demand the involvement of specialist tradespeople, nor require significant effort from homeowners.
Currently, one in three homeowners say they might consider a heat pump if they need to change their heating in the next year. With ~19 million owner-occupied households, that makes 6.3 million households. Around 1 million existing homes are sold each year. If only 20% of them received heat pump readiness advice – 200,000 homeowners reached each year – many more would likely start considering a heat pump. Those who decide they can start making their home ready in advance would get the additional benefit of spacing out work on their home and reducing mental load.
