The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) is citing recent heatwaves as a clear sign of the urgent need for improved residential cooling, advocating for increased incentives to support heat pump installations in overheating homes
Describing the current situation as a “crisis,” BESA warns that the majority of UK homes—designed primarily to retain heat—are ill-equipped to cope with rising temperatures. As heatwaves become more frequent and intense, many households are facing uncomfortably high indoor temperatures, underscoring the urgent need for modern cooling infrastructure.
BESA is calling for increased incentives to accelerate the installation of heat pump technology, aiming to provide much-needed cooling solutions for overheating homes.
2022 heatwaves caused nearly 3,000 deaths
BESA technical director, Kevin Morrissey, said: “We need an urgent rethink about how we cool and ventilate our homes, especially in our existing housing stock. Winter fuel payments were recently top of the political agenda, but a similar summer cooling scheme, targeted at vulnerable members of the population, now deserves serious consideration.”
“A recent study found that up to 80% of UK homes now regularly overheat in summer and the government reports that UK summertime temperatures will be between 1.3°C and 5.1°C warmer over the coming decades.
“This will have a hugely detrimental effect on people’s health, wellbeing and productivity.”
10,000 heat related deaths by 2050 in the UK
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine states that the official figure of deaths caused by the 2022 heatwaves may be smaller than the actual number, as heat is not typically reported as a cause of death for individuals with pre-existing health conditions, who are more susceptible to the effects of heatwaves.
The British Medical Journal paints a more alarming picture, reporting that UK heat-related deaths could approach 10,000 by 2050, with children, vulnerable adults, and low-income families being hit the hardest.
“It is a significant drawback that grant funding is not available for air-to-air heat pumps”
Morrissey continued: “Programmes like the Warm Homes Plan, Great British Insulation Scheme and Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), are designed to improve heating efficiency, but these could equally be used to help people who are just as vulnerable to heat as they are to winter cold.
“Improving insulation is important for reducing heating bills and carbon emissions but, unless it is done in tandem with better ventilation and cooling, can lead to overheating, damp, mould and poor air quality – all of which can have a devastating effect on human health and wellbeing.
“It is a significant drawback that grant funding is not available for air-to-air heat pumps that provide cooling as well as heating. Not only could this help to tackle overheating but would also fuel additional market growth and help to reduce carbon emissions.”
In May, the Copper Sustainability Partnership wrote about how using heat pumps in conjunction with copper pipes could improve sustainability while ensuring that future compatibility is unaffected.
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