Britain's leading heating manufacturers, merchants, trade associations and professional bodies issued a warning to ministers on 19 November 2025 that the UK will fall dramatically short of its target of 600,000 heat pump installations a year by 2028, potentially delaying progress by a decade1. The intervention came ahead of the Autumn Statement and in anticipation of the government's forthcoming Warm Homes Plan, which the signatories fear will not go far enough to unlock mass-market adoption1.
The group agreed a three-point action plan at a closed-door leadership summit held during InstallerSHOW 2025. Senior figures involved included the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE), the heating and plumbing merchant group Wolseley, and the manufacturer Vaillant1. The measures are a Green Installation Credit Guarantee, delivered through the British Business Bank, to help small and medium-sized installers fund projects without crippling cash flow constraints; an income-contingent Heat Pump Skills Loan, modelled on student finance, to allow heating engineers to retrain now and repay once their earnings rise; and an independent Green Homes Hub, described as a trusted, impartial online platform backed by a national communications campaign to guide homeowners, landlords and tenants through decarbonising their homes, connecting them with accredited installers and providing clear financial information1.
"The industry is ready to move faster, but the policy framework isn't keeping pace. These are practical measures that could be deployed within months, helping homeowners, supporting small businesses and delivering real progress on decarbonisation."
The figures behind the warning are stark. Fewer than 100,000 heat pumps were installed in 2024, leaving the UK operating at around one-sixth of the required pace, and even assuming strong year-on-year growth, deployment would not reach 600,000 per year until the mid-2030s1. Domestic heat remains responsible for 18% of UK greenhouse gas emissions and 61% of household energy spend, while only 19% of homeowners say they are likely to install a heat pump next time they replace their boiler1. The UK needs to train at least 10,000 new installers a year to meet 2035 targets1.
| Measure | What the plan proposes |
|---|---|
| Green Installation Credit Guarantee | Delivered through the British Business Bank, to help small and medium-sized installers fund projects without crippling cash flow constraints1 |
| Heat Pump Skills Loan | Income-contingent, modelled on student finance, so heating engineers can retrain now and repay once earnings rise1 |
| Green Homes Hub | An independent, impartial online platform backed by a national communications campaign, connecting households with accredited installers and clear financial information1 |
Why it matters for households
The pace of installation is the practical measure of whether heat pumps become a routine choice at the point a boiler is replaced, rather than an exceptional one. On the figures cited, the gap between the UK target for heat pump installations and actual deployment is wide, and the signatories say it would not close until the mid-2030s without new measures1. For a household, the constraints named are the availability of installers able to do the work and the confidence that the process, its costs and its accredited suppliers are clear. The proposed Green Homes Hub is aimed squarely at that second point, and the Skills Loan at the first1. Domestic heat accounts for 61% of household energy spend, so the terms on which a home is heated bear directly on running costs and on a household's control over its own energy use1. The policy and rules that govern installations, grants and standards are the mechanism through which any of this reaches an individual property.
What happens next
The warning was issued ahead of the Autumn Statement and in anticipation of the government's forthcoming Warm Homes Plan1. No date has been reported for the publication of the Warm Homes Plan, and no response from ministers to the three-point plan has been reported. The signatories say the measures could be deployed within months1.