Targeting heat pumps
Eight key consumer audiences
From budget-conscious millennial parents to rural retirees, we’ve identified eight unique segments of the UK population to understand who are most likely to be heat pump owners next and who are further away.
The segments have been built based on their demographic, housing and attitudes towards heat pumps.
Segmentation is a marketing approach that brings together distinct groups of consumers within a larger market who share similar characteristics, needs, or behaviours. Understanding these segments enables more information, services and interventions to be targeted to the right groups. This segmentation work can help to effectively encourage the adoption of heat pumps through interventions that could help overcome specific barriers (e.g., high installation costs, lack of awareness, property suitability) and leverage motivators (e.g., environmental benefits, lower bills) for each group, enabling a more inclusive transition to low-carbon heating for all.
The issue
While only around 360,000 homes are currently heated by heat pumps, they are a proven low-carbon technology. They are three times more efficient than a gas boiler, work in the coldest UK temperatures, and use electricity, which can be generated from renewable resources.
To meet climate change targets we need to be installing 450,000 heat pumps per year by 2030.
We are moving into a phase of early adoption of this technology. The innovators have tested it, but heat pumps are not yet the norm.
So how can we support people across the country to engage with heat pumps? For some groups, it may be that the right offer will accelerate their adoption of the technology. For other consumers, the government, industry and organisations working to speed up decarbonisation will need to work harder to support them to transition to low-carbon heating. Harnessing segmentation to support information campaigns and interventions enables more effective targeting and engagement with consumers as heat pumps can be positioned in a way that’s attuned to each segment.
What we did
We wanted to understand how different UK households feel about heat pumps, including their barriers and motivations to installing one in their home. We worked with Experian - due to their expertise in segmentation data - and MCS - the standards organisation for low-carbon installations - to produce a detailed segmentation of the population to better understand their relationship to heat pump adoption. You can read more about our methodology here.
What we found
We have developed profiles of eight distinct segments which make up around 30 million UK households. The segments represent commonalities across different traits and characteristics. They are built on characteristics that are more prominent in each segment than others. It's important to note that they are not universally consistent or representative across the whole segment population.
To help make each segment easier to reference, we've named each one - these titles are broadly (but not wholly) representative of the population they represent, and aim to draw out key differences between them.
Segment A - Eco high earning Gen X-ers
Segment B - Techie young families
Segment C - Budget-conscious millennial parents
Segment D - Rural retirees on stable income
Segment E - Homeowners eligible for free heat pumps
Segment F - Tech-cautious pre-retirees
Segment G - Young, green urban renters
Segment H - Social tenants on tight budgets
The segments are explained in more detail in tiles at the bottom of this page. You can click on each tile to understand more about the characteristics of the segment.
Characteristics include:
Understanding these segments and using these insights
According to the national polling we did for this project, 42% of people would consider installing a heat pump in their home if they needed to replace their heating system in the next five years. But this swings between 36% and 52% amongst the segments we have identified.
56% of those surveyed had heard of heat pumps and know what they are and 51% had seen what one looks like. However, within the segments this ranged significantly - with over three quarters (76%) of rural retirees having awareness of heat pumps, compared to less than half (45%) of social tenants. Again, when it came to knowing what a heat pump looked like, this range was notable across the segments with extremes at rural retirees (67%) and social tenants (43%).
Understanding how different parts of the population feel towards heat pumps is important to help the sector find ways to both provide information that the particular audience needs, and also services and interventions that can support them.
Having up-to-date, credible and robust insights on these segments, and making them publicly available, can help Nesta and others working in this space understand the challenges people face as well as their motivations, and design ways to make the journey towards low-carbon heating easier for all.
These insights also help us to understand where various segments sit in the heat pump journey. To create a healthier planet by significantly reducing carbon emissions, everyone needs to be part of that journey, and no groups left behind. This segmentation indicates the types of people most likely to be heat pump owners next and who is further away - and reasons for this. Having this medium to long term view ensures that planning a low-carbon home heating transition can be inclusive and strategic.
Eco high-earning Gen X-ers
(1.44 million)
Older and affluent individuals who own their large properties. Environmentally conscious with high levels of awareness and heat pump consideration.
Techie young families
(3.53 million)
Younger affluent families who are relatively eco-friendly and early adopters of green technology. They tend to own their own property and have the financial means to purchase green tech and products.
Rural retirees on stable income (1.69 million)
Older affluent families who live in remote locations in large detached properties, often off the gas grid. Less eco-engaged, with heat pump adoption tending to be more out of necessity.
Homeowners eligible for
free heat pumps
(7.73 million)
Older low-income families who are likely to be eligible for the government-funded heat pump schemes but are less engaged with environmental issues or green technologies. Around a third would consider a heat pump for their home.
Budget-conscious millennial parents
(1.76 million)
Younger low-income families who own their own property. Heat pump consideration is high, but affordability is a significant blocker.
Tech-cautious pre-retirees
(5.53 million)
Older affluent homeowners with homes suitable for heat pump installation. However, they have low levels of consideration and are often cautious when it comes to green tech.
Young, green urban renters
(2.29 million)
Younger households, who tend to live in rented flats. Often extremely eco-friendly with high levels of consideration – they may not be able to install a heat pump now, but likely will in the future.
Social tenants on tight budgets (6.59 million)
Very low-income households who often have very low levels of consideration and awareness of heat pumps. This group is reliant on their landlord to change their heating system.
Scroll down to click on each segment and explore them in more detail. A pen-portrait summary can also be downloaded as a PDF.
If you are interested in finding out more about this work, these segments, or exploring ideas and opportunities to use these insights get in touch with elin.price@nesta.org.uk
[Download PDF of all segments.]
Built with Shorthand