The latest BEIS Public Attitudes Tracker survey found that just over 20% of respondents were likely to install any type of heat pump (whether air source, ground source or hybrid).

This potentially equates to a market of nearly 3.6 million households, when available grant money only covers 30,000 installations per year for the next three years. 

Currently, there are only 1.3 heat pumps sold per 1,000 households in the UK, the lowest installation rate of any country in Europe.

Compare this with the 1.7 million gas boilers installed in UK homes in 2018, the last year for which accurate, pre-Covid figures are available. 

According to analysis carried out by independent charity MCS Charitable Foundation, if similar numbers are installed this year up to 300,000 could have been replaced with low-carbon heat pumps, given the demand from the public.

Yet the Government has limited that potential by only providing grants for 90,000 heat pump installations through the £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme – which will not be sufficient to reach the Government target of 600,000 installations a year by 2028.

MCS Charitable Foundation said that the UK Government must follow the lead of other European countries, such as France, to make up this shortfall and rapidly bring down fuel bills and carbon emissions.

For example, thanks to a range of long-term supportive policy measures, nearly 550,000 heat pumps were installed in France last year, more than ten times the 40,000 installed in the UK.

MCS Charitable Foundation also said that with appropriate funding, demand for heat pumps could grow even further, as market development would bring down cost of installations and heat pumps could soon be at cost parity with gas boilers.

David Cowdrey, Director of External Affairs at MCS Charitable Foundation, said: “It is unsurprising that demand for heat pumps is so high among homeowners, as they are the most efficient form of heating technology and can massively reduce energy bills and carbon emissions.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to scale up heat pump installations and are urging the Government to provide more targeted funding for heat pumps and extend the Boiler Upgrade Scheme for a further two years.

“We urgently need increased funding for installations and for development of the supply chain if heat pumps are to reach their full potential for providing clean, affordable energy across the UK. Further investment in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will make this possible.”