COMPANY PROFILE
Heat pumps, no hot air
The Renewable Energy Warehouse in Kings Norton has opened its doors at a moment when the UK’s heating landscape is shifting faster than many homeowners or installers can keep up with. Inside the refurbished Savoy Works building, working heat pump systems hum quietly beside demonstration rigs, off ering a practical, grounded look at technologies that are often discussed in the abstract. For Managing Director Spencer Bell, the new hub is less about fanfare and more about giving people a place to learn, question and get hands-on with the realities of decarbonisation.
T Spencer Bell
'Government incentives helped build momentum, though Bell remains wary of political volatility.'
he Savoy Works on Pershore Road in Kings Norton is not new to Spencer Bell. Long before it became home to the newly launched Renewable Energy Warehouse (REW), it was the building where he cut his teeth in the plumbing trade. “When I started in plumbers’ maintenance, I worked in this building,” he recalled during the opening event. “It was an independent that got sold to a national, which was when I left and set up Bell Plumbing. To come back here 20 years later and to take the building back on is quite nice, actually.” The return is more than symbolic. REW represents a
deliberate shift in direction for Bell and his team, one that began during the pandemic and has since accelerated into a fully-fl edged hub for decarbonisation technologies and customer engagement. The new facility brings together working heat pump systems, technical demonstrations and a curated selection of manufacturers, all to help installers and homeowners navigate the transition away from fossil fuel heating.
The space is deliberately curated – although the UK market
now includes dozens of heat pump brands, REW has chosen to work with only a small number. Bell is unapologetic about that. “People have asked, ‘Why have you only got three manufacturers in there on air source?” he said. “The answer is because you can have too many. We want to partner with the better ones and in our opinion, Daikin have got products that would suit probably 90% of properties in this country. Why do we need someone else?”
The decision is partly about clarity. “One of my friends has a
showroom with 16 diff erent manufacturers in there,” Bell said. “If I walked in there as Mr or Mrs Smith, I’d be overwhelmed with too much choice. Here, you’ve got three big names, and everybody knows those names.”
12 January 2026 •
www.acr-news.com
Training, trust and the realities of retrofi t If REW has a defi ning philosophy, it is that heat pumps must be installed correctly or not at all. Bell is frank about the challenges. “The problem with heat pumps is they’re fi tted in the wrong houses by the wrong people, and they don’t work, and they get a lot of bad press,” he said. “Fitted properly, they’re brilliant.” The company’s approach is unusually selective for a
merchant. “If you came into us and said, I want to buy a heat pump, we would ask the question: ‘Who’s fi tting it for you?’” Bell said. “We won’t just sell to anybody.” That selectiveness extends to training. REW does not run
its own accredited courses, but Bell has links to a local training centre and installers who need certifi cation are directed there. Meanwhile, REW’s own technical team focuses on practical support. “On your fi rst install, we’d hold your hand – go and help you fi t it properly,” Bell said. “Other merchants don’t do that. It costs us money, but we hope we’re buying loyalty.” REW also supplies post-installation support when needed.
The Renewable Energy Warehouse is designed to be hands-on. During the launch, Solutions Manager James Bell led visitors through the Daikin monobloc units on display, explaining capacity ranges, refrigerants and the practicalities of installation. His focus was on demystifying the technology rather than selling it. His technical demonstrations reinforce the importance
of correct specifi cation. He pointed out the limitations of retrofi tting in older homes, particularly those with microbore pipework. “Having the right insulation, having the right pipework and being the right property are a big thing,” he said.
Download the ACR News app today
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
