Due to long wait times and a shortage of installers, bunglers are gaining more and more space on the heat pump market, according to a tour by BNR. Consumers are being extorted out of hundreds of euros or more by ‘heat pump cowboys’
This can be seen from a survey conducted by BNR among a dozen installers and other experts. “These people take hundreds of euros from the ignorant consumer, who has no knowledge of heat sources,” says Loek Pander of the Heat Pump Factory.
Consumers’ relative unfamiliarity with the heat pump makes them an easy target, says Pander. Three out of ten homeowners don’t even know what a heat pump is, according to a previous survey of 1,028 homeowners conducted by Milieu Centraal.
The “heat pump cowboys” work in different ways. Some offer advice worth hundreds of euros, such as an inventory or transmission calculation, which is subsequently ignored. ‘I go to a fair regularly. Eighty percent of those concerned are self-proclaimed water pump consultants,’ says Pander.
Growing demand leads to problems
The growing demand for their services is driven by government policy. From 2026 it is mandatory to switch to a hybrid heat pump installation when the central heating boiler needs to be replaced. “It’s a big leap,” says Taco van Hoek, director of the Economic Institute for the Construction Industry (EIB). ‘That means 300,000 central heating boilers need to be replaced in a year. This can have unpleasant consequences for the consumer. However, the installation sector is putting on blinders, while it stands to reason that such a large leap will result in a shortage of installers and higher tariffs.’
Superfluous “cowboy installer” tips are just one questionable revenue model in the growing market. There are also bunglers among the installers. For example, the geothermal energy installation company Warmtebelang, consultant to Anita Harte-Deutekom, often sees that an air source heat pump is offered for too much money with incorrect performance figures. Customers then think they’re saving money, but a year later they turn out to be incurring extra costs.
“Heat source companies are popping up like mushrooms nowadays and everyone has suddenly been working in the profession for twenty years,” says Harte-Deutekom. ‘We even know that some companies haven’t installed more than a handful of heat pumps in their career.’
“Ignorance plays a role”
According to Harte-Deutekom, many plumbers do heat pump work separately and lack the necessary certifications. This is particularly a problem when installing technically complex ground source heat pumps. “There are huge sums at stake. For example, the customer is helped by someone who cannot provide the right knowledge and service and subsequently cannot make a guarantee, with all the misery that ensues.’
The EIB’s Van Hoek suspects that ignorance plays a role in many cases. The EIB has no figures, but the director knows the problem firsthand. “I once did an inventory with an installer to see if a hybrid boiler was an option for my home, but he found it difficult,” says Van Hoek. “It’s entirely possible that various parties in this market just don’t know what they’re doing.”
Source: BNR
Andrew Dwight is an author and economy journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of financial markets and a passion for analyzing economic trends and news. With a talent for breaking down complex economic concepts into easily understandable terms, Andrew has become a respected voice in the field of economics journalism.
