But all three are interlinked and it’s time for Cinderella, hot water, to get a public outing.

Now I will start by saying hot water provision in the future can involve a wide range of technologies and approaches. We are familiar with the combi-boiler and its ability to deliver hot water when and where it is wanted. Around 60 per cent of homes use one and that number grows daily. But if heat pumps are to replace gas boilers, then what happens to the combi?

Heat pumps also generate hot water, stored in cylinders or ‘thermal stores.’ Nothing wrong with the technology, it works. Where the problems lie is with the consumer. They have taken out hot water cylinders, not just for the convenience of a combi but to use the space for something else. Retrofitting a heat pump means compromising on this space gain. It’s a behavioural issue too. Research into the homes of the future, conducted for DESNZ, suggested that getting the right sized thermal store is essential in providing consumers with what they want. Industry has also been looking at hybrid systems, combining smaller heat pumps with smaller combi-boilers to try and capture the best of both technologies.

Harnessing smart electricity tariffs and batteries can also be a way to make hot water production and storage cheaper and greener too. I was delighted, before Christmas, to send the ESNZ Select Committee a copy of the Hot Water Association’s “Connected Homes” report into doing exactly this.

Our sector would be all the poorer if we ignore the wide range of options available to deliver what most consumers would say is a necessity but hot water provision doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Perhaps 2025 is the year that Cinderella gets to the ball, not with just the one outfit but a variety of choices to appeal to her suitor.