Switch to heat pumps '500,000-per-year off the pace for net zero'

BRITAIN is going cold on the heat pump push, figures suggest.

- BY GILES SHELDRICK

Installing a heat pump and Ed Miliband, inset

Fewer than 100,000 were installed last year meaning the UK is now operating at one sixth of the required pace.

And experts say Britain will fall dramatically short of its target to install 600,000 a year by 2028.

The nation also needs to train at least 10,000 new installers a year to meet targets. Industry data shows even assuming strong year-on-year growth, the 600,000-a-year target will not be hit until the mid-2030s.