When it comes to heat pumps, we’re all for them because they’re very green. They use the outside air or the heat in the ground as their source of energy but, for the heat pumps to be effective they should be installed in the right homes, which means very well-insulated ones. If they’re not, you’ll spend a not inconsiderable sum of money, between £7,000 to £13,000 (source: Energy Saving Trust) to be less comfortable. But decarbonising our homes is vital, and the Government has made a £450 million grant available to homeowners (£5,000 for an air source heat pump, £6,000 for a ground source heat pump) via their installers, to help towards the cost of installation. The Government’s set a target of 600,000 installations by 2028 but, since the scheme opened last May to the end of November 2022, the Government had only issued 8,771 vouchers (source: Financial Times, February 2023). Research conducted by Samsung reveals that 78% of respondents cite cost as the major barrier to uptake, which is hardly surprising given current world events and their impact on the economy and our disposable income. The Committee on Climate Change has already stated that, to reach net zero by 2050, 900,0000 heat pumps would need be installed annually from 2028. Given the current low rate of heat pump installation, heat pumps alone aren’t the answer.