Considering this, I thought I would just take stock of the facts – forget the hype and noise – what are consumers actually buying?

Let’s start with the new technologies. Heat pumps generate considerable media attention for a technology that has been around for decades. The problem is that with existing electricity and gas unit prices, they are more expensive to run than a gas boiler. Coupled with the initial outlay of five times that of a gas boiler, they are heavily subsidised and last year consumers fitted between 55 and 65,000 into UK homes. My best guess is that figure will rise to around 70,000 in 2024.

Last year, approximately 70,000 households fitted an oil boiler despite the carbon intensity of its emissions. Like mains gas, it is cheaper to run than newer technologies and consumers are no longer faced with a 2026 ban on oil boiler replacements. I can’t see much change in volumes in 2024.

Despite them being labelled a “middle class nice to have,” over 200,000 woodburning stoves were fitted into UK homes last year. Now this is most likely secondary heating, part decorative and partly a response to high prices for gas and electricity. I’m not going to get into the debate about how renewable these stoves are, or the impact on air quality, but I suspect that number of installations surprises a few people.

Hot water cylinders are an essential part of a heat pump heating system and arguably they have a role to play as a thermal store, utilising cheap electricity deals to provide hot water when it is needed. Last year, around 350,000 hot water cylinders were fitted in UK homes, obviously not just with a heat pump but gas and oil boilers too. I suspect the 2024 market will be something similar.

Finally, gas boilers. You know, the technology that people are turning against; using fossil fuel; old-school not the cool kid on the block. Well, consumers bought around 1.4 million of these last year.