UK: Further growth in the UK domestic heat pump market is expected this year, according to Daikin UK.
The UK arm of the Japanese manufacturer says that installation figures have increased noticeably since the onset of various Government incentive schemes and are set to rise further in 2013.

'Government schemes, such as the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) and Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, have already been very successful in encouraging wider uptake of air-to-water heat pump technology,' says the company in a press statement. 'They are likely to pave the way for even more widespread heat pump installations, with further incentive schemes such as the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme, Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (Affordable Warmth) schemes being introduced in 2013.'

According to Daikin, a total of 2,492 vouchers had been claimed to November 2012 for air-to-water source heat pump installations in Phases 1 and 2 of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme. The scheme provides a one-off payment for householders who purchase certain renewable energy measures, but entitlement to vouchers for air-to-water heat pumps is currently confined to those who do not, or have not recently had, gas heating.

The Carbon Emissions Reduction Target scheme, which was the Government's main domestic energy efficiency scheme implemented by the main energy supplier companies until the end of 2012, has achieved 6,617 heat pump installations to the end of September 2012.

According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change's statistical publication, published in December 2012, air source heat pump measures accounted for 44% of total megawatt heat capacity within the RHPP scheme. From this DECC states that, 'it is clear that the average capacity of installed air source heat pumps is greater than that of the other technologies' .

UK installation figures, however, are tiny compared to heat pump sales in other northern European countries. In 2012 Germany saw heating-only heat pump sales rise by 4.4% to 59,500 units. In addition, 10,700 domestic hot water heat pumps were sold - a growth of 20%.