Heat pump installations in Scotland increased by 113% between 2020 and 2023, revealed the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) today (25 January).
According to the MCS Data Dashboard, 6,388 MCS-certified heat pump installations took place in Scotland last year in total, up from 2,993 in 2020.
The announcement follows the MCS confirming in December that 2023 had been the UK’s “best ever” year for renewable energy and heating installations with a total of 220,500 MCS-certified installations having been registered across 2023.
This growth is likely to have been bolstered by the UK government increasing both ground and air source heat pump Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grants to £7,500 from 23 October 2023 alongside committing a £1.5 billion funding boost to the scheme’s overall funding pot.
With over 200,000 installations, the MCS revealed that as of 2023 nearly one in ten (8.23%) of Scottish households have MCS-certified renewable energy technologies in their home.
“Scottish households are leading the UK in renewable energy installations, and the record figures from 2023 show a very positive trajectory for solar panels and heat pumps,” said David Cowdrey, director of external affairs at the MCS Foundation.
“Scottish Government grants of up to £9,000 have helped to boost installations and get more households off polluting fossil fuels and onto cheaper and more efficient renewables.
“To reduce energy bills and tackle the climate crisis the rate of installations must continue to increase. This will need action from Westminster as well, to reduce the costs of electricity so that even more households can make savings on their energy bill by replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump.”
Part of this article was taken from our sister site Solar Power Portal. The initial article can be read here.