Air-source heat pumps can help to halve the carbon emissions compared to gas-fired heating systems. Nevertheless, the uptake of air-source heat pumps in the UK is the lowest in Europe. Why?

The main reason is that the upfront costs for their installation are still rather high and, although the government has set a specific grant, it is still not enough. Moreover, there are some other sociological aspects to consider:

• ambiguity aversion: people prefer known risks compared to unknown ones. Air-source heat pumps carry unknown risks and planning regulations are not well specified
• loss aversion: most people are more sensitive to losses than gains. While the initial cost for air-source heat pumps is specific and certain, the costs of maintenance and operations are uncertain and vague
• availability: lack of accessible data and experience about the successful installations of air-source heat pumps.

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