Customer interest in heat pumps is growing but are you prepared to guide them towards the best system for their home? Choosing the right solution can make all the difference in efficiency, comfort, and long-term savings for your clients starting their renewable heating journey.
Many homeowners are realising the benefits of renewable heating solutions as Octopus Energy reported a 144% increase in heat pump enquiries in 2024. With traditional gas boilers sales being phased out by 2035 to meet net zero targets by 2050, heat pumps are becoming the new norm for many new build homes with homeowners starting their renewable heating journey.
Uptake in existing homes, however, is still relatively low.
So while government incentives in England such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), are aiding the affordability of a full heat pump, why is overall uptake so slow?
Are your customers ready?
You know upgrading your customers heating systems is not as simple as just replacing the boiler. But how many of these have you come up against when pricing up a heat pump upgrade?
- Lack of space for both a heat pump and hot water cylinder because homeowner only has a combi boiler
- Radiators and pipework need changing to manage the different heat and flow rates
- Lack of insulation in the home making any heating system inefficient
- Customers worried about the ‘long term cost’ of running their heating on electric tariffs
It can be difficult to move a customer onto more sustainable heating when faced with all these barriers.
Helping customers make the jump
There is an alternative. The Alpha E-Tec Hybrid System combines the reliability and familiarity of a combi boiler with the efficiency of a heat pump. The hybrid system is ideal for a home where space is a premium or is heated by just a combi boiler. The dedicated hybrid boiler can replace the existing combi and the smaller heat pump can be installed outside.
This makes installation simple as homes can keep their existing pipework and radiators, plus there is no requirement for a hot water tank. This results in less disruption and fewer costs for the homeowner.
The hybrid heat pump is limited to a temperature 55°C which is suitable for long-term low temperature heating. It can also provide variable heating based on the outside temperature to ensure the home is heated in the most efficient way.
When it is particularly cold or hot water is needed instantly, the combi boiler steps in to meet heating demand. It is an ideal way to introduce your customers to this approach to heating.
And to soothe concerns about long-term costs, the E-Tec Hybrid is controlled via a dedicated Smartech controller. This enables the system to select the cheapest fuel tariffs to heat the home.
Switching to a hybrid
If you’re already familiar with heat pump installations, then our straightforward one-day hybrid installation course is ideal. It gives you all the practical, first hand knowledge to install and maintain the hybrid system, plus how to ease your customers onto this journey.
As a manufacturer of heating solutions, we see the role of the hybrid system as bridging the gap towards heat pump technology. Full scale heat pumps are still the destination, and hybrids systems can help to get more homes on the right course.
Alpha offers a choice of hybrid systems. E-Tec Hybrid is a packaged solution offering a straightforward way for homeowners to start their journey to renewable heating. The Custom Hybrid provides greater flexibility with a choice of heat pump outputs and boiler types.