UK government hires nudge department to dispel heat pump myths | heat pump

Experts from the Nudge Department have been hired to help ministers combat misinformation about heat pumps and encourage use of the devices.

These appliances run on electricity instead of gas and are seen as a way to decarbonize homes on a large scale. The target to install 600,000 units per year by 2028 is part of efforts to meet the UK's commitment to achieve net zero by 2050.

But misinformation shared by the media and other stakeholders is hindering uptake, according to 100,000 government contracts awarded by the Behavioral Insights Team (BIT), which specializes in ideas that lead the public to take different actions.

The contract awarded by BIT includes details of the study not previously released by the Department of Energy.

We found that individuals who self-reported that they knew a fair amount or a lot about heat pumps were less likely to want one. However, people who correctly answered simple knowledge questions about heat pumps were more likely to want a heat pump.

BIT is finalizing a large-scale survey of householders' views and media coverage that will be used to help the government plan how to respond to misinformation.

Information about heat pumps is being shared by the media and stakeholders, which can be skewed into negative, inaccurate or exaggerated stories about heat pump adoption, the contract states, noting that pumps are noisy, too expensive to install, unreliable and can be used in older homes. doesn't work.

Articles about heat pumps from the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph are cited in the document, which states that while some of these stories are generally well-founded, such as believing that heat pumps are expensive, some are: He added that it contains incorrect misunderstandings such as: May not work well in the cold.

We read that online information that is unbalanced or biased with inaccurate and exaggerated claims can be considered an environment where misinformation is problematic.

The stakeholders were not named, but last year the then Conservative energy minister, Martin Callanan, accused them of having a vested interest in maintaining current supplies of gas boilers and other supplies.

The technology has also been criticized, most recently by Reform UK, which is seeking to capitalize on its anti-net zero agenda, while heat pumps were publicly criticized by party leader Nigel Farage in GB News.

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Richard Tice MP, deputy leader of Reform UK, has also been particularly hostile to the technology, claiming heat pumps are useless in most homes.

Toby Park, Head of Climate, Energy and Sustainability at BIT, said: “Heat pumps are highly efficient, low-carbon systems for keeping homes warm, but negative perceptions remain a barrier to widespread adoption.

Sometimes skepticism is driven by real market issues, such as affordability, but does not take into account the full picture, such as subsidy availability. In other cases, it may be due to myths, such as the claim that heat pumps do not work properly in cold weather.

There were record numbers of heat pump installations in the UK last year, but there have still only been around 42,000 since January. The average cost to purchase and install an air source heat pump is just over $12,500, which is about four to five times more expensive than a gas boiler. The government is offering a $7,500 subsidy to households that install the technology.

Regarding the claims, experts say they expect most households to have access to heat pumps that are not newer. Additionally, on average, heat pumps are much more efficient than gas boilers, converting one unit of electricity into 2.5-5 units of heat.

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