EP #32 – Why @tomkatgastraining Isn’t Sold on Heat Pumps (Yet)
Overview
If heat pumps are the answer, why is there still so much resistance?
In this FieldRocket podcast, host Tulloch Priest sits down with Derek Robins (@tomkatgastraining), a veteran gas engineer, and training centre owner to discuss the truth about heat pumps, the problems with training, and why the industry isn’t ready to go all-in just yet.
Highlights
Derek’s background
- (1:22) Derek started his apprenticeship in 1983, and was a commercial engineer until 1999 – at which point he started working for the Manchester City Council.
- He started his training centre after a serious car accident and had trouble working on the tools.
Are heat pumps viable?
- (3:20) Derek thinks heat pumps are amazing pieces of equipment, but he has problems with the way they are sold and pushed.
- (4:20) There needs to be a progression. Hybrid heat pumps?
- (6:10) Batteries and solar panels are important alongside a heat pump installation because electricity isn’t cheap – but this is a huge investment.
- (7:20) You can’t simply replace a gas boiler with a heat pump. A lot of work needs to be done on the infrastructure first.
- (8:13) We need the infrastructure, grid, and engineers sorted. The goal of 600,000 heat pumps per year needs at least 30,000 installers.
- (8:38) The average age for a gas engineer is 55, so it’s not realistic to ask them to swap over to heat pumps now. Instead, there needs to be apprentices and a gradual transition.
How can we better implement heat pumps?
- (10:00) For Derek, the key to transitioning into heat pumps is in education.
- (14:00) Installing heat pumps is far more complex than installing a boiler. If you get any of the calculations wrong, you’ll end up costing people a lot of money. Boilers are far more forgiving and versatile.
- (15:15) Heat pumps will become better and more versatile over time.
- (16:20) If Derek were to build a house, he would put a heat pump in it. Retrofitting brings a lot of problems with it, though.
- (20:40) Payment plans could become the norm for heat pumps.
- (22:45) Derek ran some experiments in his own home by reducing the temperature to simulate what it would be like to have a heat pump.