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What can we learn from Sweden’s rollout of heat pumps?

How to make good things happen: global lessons for UK policymakers

In A sustainable future

17 Sep 2024

Online and in person

Free

This event took place on Tuesday 17 September. You can watch the recording below.

As a new government gets to work, we’re looking at successful past policies from across the globe and what UK policymakers can learn from them, as part of our event series: how to make good things happen.

The UK needs to act swiftly to transition to clean heat and meet net-zero targets. Home heating accounts for 15% of total carbon emissions, so replacing our heating systems with low-carbon systems like heat pumps will be crucial. But our heat pump adoption rate is currently too slow - only 1% of heating installations per year are heat pumps.

What can the UK learn from our Nordic neighbours to pick up the pace? In Sweden, the rate of heat pump adoption is high. Despite having one of the coldest climates in Europe, there are more than 40 heat pumps per 100 households and the nation has consistently reached 100,000 installations per year for the last decade.

Nesta's sustainable future mission director Madeleine Gabriel chaired a panel of expert speakers to discuss Sweden's heat pump rollout. We heard from the Principal and Director of European Programmes at the Regulatory Assistance Project Dr Jan Rosenow, CEO of Aira UK Daniel Särefjord, the Chief Executive of the Heat Pump Association Charlotte Lee and Paul Kenny from the European Heat Pump Association.

Why you should watch the recording

This event was for those working towards getting the UK to net zero, including those that work in government, policy, research or in the energy industry.

The next event in our How to Make Good Things Happen series takes place on 13 November 2024: What can we learn about governance and public service leadership from Singapore?

Find out more about the series

Event recording

The opinions expressed in this event recording are those of the speaker. For more information, view our full statement on external contributors.

Madeleine Gabriel

She/Her

Madeleine leads Nesta’s mission to create a sustainable future, which focuses on decarbonisation and economic recovery. Her team is setting up innovation projects and partnerships exploring how to reduce carbon emissions from homes and, in the wake of COVID-19, how to boost productivity and help people find good work. She previously led Nesta’s work on inclusive innovation, researching ways to create an equitable, innovation-led economy in the UK. She has published widely on innovation practices that promote sustainability and social impact. Before joining Nesta in 2014, Madeleine specialised in social research and programme evaluation, helping charities and public bodies to understand and improve their impact. She has worked across a wide range of public policy areas including learning, skills and employability, public health, housing and neighbourhood regeneration.

Charlotte Lee

She/Her

Charlotte joined the Heat Pump Association in April 2023 as their first Chief Executive. Having spent the previous 10 years at NAPIT, a UKAS-accredited Certification Body for installers in the Building Services and Fabric sectors, culminating in leading their external affairs function, Charlotte has a wealth of knowledge in the practicalities and policy that surrounds the retrofitting of the UK housing stock, specifically relating the heat pumps. With a strong understanding of the vital role of the installer and the importance of consumer demand and industry collaboration in affecting change, Charlotte brings a valuable perspective, commitment and passion in leading the Association to support the sector in accelerating heat pump deployment within the UK.

Dr Jan Rosenow

He/Him

Dr Jan Rosenow is a Principal and Director of European Programmes at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), a global team of highly skilled energy experts. Jan has several board appointments including the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and the Coalition for Energy Savings. Jan also has a passion for energy research. He is an Honorary Research Associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute. In recognition of his work within the field, Jan was named one of the world’s Top 25 energy influencers and has been appointed Special Advisor to the House of Commons as part of their inquiry into decarbonising heating. He is a regular commentator in the national and international media and has been an expert witness to the European Parliament and the House of Commons on many occasions.

Daniel Särefjord

He/Him

Daniel Särefjord brings more than 20 years of experience in executive roles and leadership positions to Aira, where Daniel leads the Group Commercial function, overseeing the company’s commercial strategy and execution, whilst also leading the UK business as UK CEO in London. Prior to joining the Aira team, Daniel spent almost ten years as Market CEO in three different countries at the Verisure Group, the leading European Smart alarms company. His previous experiences further include leading the Consumer Market at Telenor Sweden. Daniel holds a double Master’s degree in Computer Science and in Industrial Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology.

Paul Kenny

He/Him

Paul joins the European Heat Pump Association in September 2024 as Director General. Paul is a mechanical engineer with a Master’s degree in energy and is recognised as a leading energy policy expert in Ireland and the EU. Paul ran a local energy agency – an organisation promoting the transition to clean energy at a local level – for eight years. As part of this role, he established an early and successful one-stop shop, which brings together home energy upgrade services for consumers. He worked as an expert for the EU’s ManagEnergy programme, which supports local and regional governments as they work towards their energy savings targets. More recently he has worked as the policy adviser to the Irish climate and energy minister, having helped steer the transformation of the Irish energy system with a significant increase in building renovation, a large increase in heat pump and other renewable energy technology deployment. Paul worked hard to demonstrate the opportunity of heat pumps in Ireland, through both starting up a retrofit company with heat pumps at the core, academic work to provide evidence to policymakers and supporting policy development both external and internal in the Irish government.

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What can we learn from Sweden’s rollout of heat pumps?

About Nesta

What can we learn from Sweden’s rollout of heat pumps?