Heat pump installers and heating engineers across the UK expect low-carbon heating to become a significant source of revenue – with 1 in 4 (25%) anticipating that between a quarter and half of their income will come from low-carbon heating sources by winter, new polling from Nesta finds.
The survey of 200 gas heating engineers and heat pump installers, conducted by Censuswide in March, found that 70% of respondents expect heat pumps will deliver between 10% and 50% of their revenue by the winter.
Nesta is supporting this shift through its Start at Home initiative, designed to help installers build confidence with heat pump installations for customers.
60% of respondents say hands-on experience with new kit such as heat pumps – whether testing kit at a wholesaler (26%), seeing it in action in a customer’s home (20%) or trying it themselves (14%) – is the most effective way to learn before installation.
A previous survey by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero revealed that only 27% of newly trained heat pump installers completed a heat pump installation within a year of training, due partly to a lack of confidence in the technology and the installation process.
Madeleine Gabriel, Nesta’s Director of Sustainable Future, said: “Low-carbon heating is becoming central to how heating engineers make a living, so we need to make it easier for them to get hands-on with the technology, build skills that pay and feel secure as demand grows. Our existing heating workforce will help to drive a low-carbon future in homes across the UK – but we have to ensure they are well equipped in order for this to happen.”
Heating engineers interested in a funded heat pump can find and register for a scheme that works for them at: startathome.org.uk. Nesta’s programme brings together companies across England, Scotland and Wales that help heating engineers fit a government-funded heat pump at home.
Through Start at Home, Nesta is providing up to £2 million in funding to companies that supply heat pumps for heating engineers to install in their own homes. Since the initiative started in autumn 2025, over 1,000 heating engineers have expressed their interest.
Image: Madeleine Gabriel, Nesta’s Director of Sustainable Future (NESTA)
