Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Accepted in Part
DESNZ lacks a comprehensive, single measure for tracking total heat pump installations.
Conclusion
DESNZ does not have a single measure of the number of heat pump installations. Instead, it relies on data from a range of sources, including the number of heat pump 32 Q 21; DHH0008; DHH0010, Written evidence submitted by The Retrofit Academy, 29 April 2024; DHH0027, Written evidence submitted by Schneider Electric, 29 April 2024; DHH0033; DHH0037, Written evidence submitted by MCS Service Company, 29 April 2024 33 Qq 21, 25–28; C&AG’s Report, para 3.15 34 DHH0014, Written evidence submitted by The MCS Foundation, 29 April 2024 35 Qq 24–25; DHH0053 36 DHH0008 37 DHH0027 Decarbonising home heating 15 grants provided through government schemes, Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) installations data and heat pump sales data. Data from the Heat Pump Association indicates that some 55,000 heat pumps were sold in 2022.38 We asked DESNZ why it did not have a mechanism to measure how many heat pumps had been installed. It explained that there were “challenges”, as no one was required to tell DESNZ whether they had installed a heat pump. It considered that requiring this information would be “overly regulatory”. It also told us that not everyone who installed a heat pump was certified by the MCS, so not all installations were captured in the MCS installations data. In addition, DESNZ explained that there were significant numbers of installations taking place in the devolved administrations, which were not included in its data, and that the number of heat pumps that are installed in new build homes would not always be captured either.39
Government Response Summary
The government commits to publishing quarterly data for retrofit installations using government funding. However, for new build and non-government funded installations, it is only investigating mechanisms to collect data and cannot yet commit to doing so.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Winter 2024 4.2 The government agrees to publish data quarterly for retrofit installations using government funding. The government is also investigating whether there is a way to collect and publish data on installations in new build and installations not using government funding and cannot commit to do this until a suitable mechanism is found. 4.3 There is currently no single data source that measures the number of heat pumps installed. According to the Heat Pump Association more than 60,000 heat pumps were sold in 2023, including around 40,000 Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified heat pump installations. However, new build and installations not using government funding are not systematically recorded by MCS. The department is currently exploring whether it is possible to use various data sources to cover these gaps. Across each of its schemes, the department currently publishes details on the number of measures installed on a regular basis, including heat pumps deployed, allowing for ongoing monitoring of the number of heat pumps installed.