Commercial-scale air-to-water heat pumps must be included in the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) 'as soon as possible', says Daikin UK managing director Peter Verkempynck.

In a keynote speech at the Micropower Council’s Summer Reception at Portcullis House, Verkempynck told Greg Barker, Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, and assembled DECC civil servants, that the government’s current policy to exclude commercial-scale heat pumps from the RHI was having a seriously negative impact on the industry and had created an unfair playing field.

He said: “This is really important and another missed opportunity. The commercial renewable heating market is distorted and is developing much slower than everyone would prefer it to develop because other renewable heating technologies are in the RHI, yet this one isn’t.

"I have to – and I’m sure other makers also have to – stay away from contracts that would make economic sense, were it not for the lack of RHI support. The policy framework today creates unfair competition, which is atypical for the usually entrepreneurial environment of the UK market.”

In his speech, Verkempynck urged the Minister to proceed with the inclusion of air-to-water heat pumps in the commercial RHI, to the original timetable of October 2012.

“This would mean that air-to-water heat pumps can compete fairly with other renewable technologies that are already included in the scheme – and may well lower the cost of delivering the RHI,” he concluded.