Redrow PLC (LSE:RDW) has become the first UK housebuilder to commit to installing heat pumps rather than gas boilers in new-build homes, ramping up efforts to meet 'net zero' targets.
“The introduction of air source heat pump technology will have the biggest impact to date on the efficiency of our homes,” it said in a press release, ahead of a government proposal to make all new properties gas-free from 2025.
Heat pumps compress air taken from outdoors and then circulate it throughout homes, offering more efficient heating than gas boilers, although this does rely on buildings being well insulated.
Rival housebuilders have been trialling heat pumps, with Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN) fitting one as part of its zero-carbon home trial in York and Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY) installing what it claimed was the UK’s first roof-mounted air source heat pump as part of a new trial last November.
Prices of heat pumps have also been slashed by energy companies such as Octopus Energy and British Gas in recent months.
However, the potential for mass rollout of retrofitted heat pumps has been questioned by trade body the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA) though, which warned current targets were “unrealistic”.
Some 140,000 engineers will be needed to install the government's targeted 600,000 pumps a year by 2028, the EUA suggested, up from 3,000 people licenced to do it in 2020.
The trade association also warned that the cost of switching rural houses to heat pump systems could exceed £10,000 apiece, given the extensive refitting needed to replace gas pipelines, meaning the systems are still costly even after the current government grant of £5,000 in England.
Older homes are also generally less well insulated, making heat pumps less efficient.
Redrow said it was working alongside Mitsubishi, Vaillant and Daiken to offer training centres for engineers to tackle this, following a year-long trial which found heat pumps to be up to three times more efficient than gas boilers.
The EUA recommended a mixed rollout of hydrogen ready boilers and the pumps, ahead of plans to introduce the greener fuel into the UK’s mains supply as early as 2028, according to Centrica PLC (LSE:CNA) owned British Gas.
Redrow's share price was up 1.5% on the news, to 513p on Tuesday afternoon.