SUSTAINABILITY BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
The Government’s target for 600,000 heat pumps to be installed per year by 2028 to drive net zero carbon represents a big challenge. .
T
o achieve the number of installations required to meet UK net zero targets, some 30,000 installers are required. As of March 2023, only 1,512
installers were MCS accredited. City Plumbing commissioned independent research with 350 installers in December 2022 finding 44% of installers didn’t know where to get training and only 6% of installers were MCS-certified. City Plumbing wanted to address the lack of qualified heat pump installers, whilst it recognised the financial impact that undertaking additional training can have on self-employed installers. In response, City Plumbing launched a strategic partnership with GTEC Training, the UK’s leading renewables training provider, and created the first Energy Efficiency Centre.
This houses an accredited GTEC training room providing installers with LCL Awards accredited installer training across a range of renewable technologies and engaging ‘zones’ that showcase technologies in action. City Plumbing and GTEC also secured BEIS funding to bring the course cost for SMEs down to £160 + VAT. Taking its commitment a step further, City Plumbing also provided customers who completed the course with £160 off their first heat pump purchase, helping to remove financial barriers to entry. As of March 2024, more than 200 installers have completed training courses via City Plumbing since the project’s inception, single-
A 6
handedly increasing the number of certified installers in the UK by 15% from 2023 levels. Building on the success of the campaign, in early 2024, City Plumbing expanded its portfolio opening a second Renewables Centre in Basildon, Essex. The merchant has also used a mobile training rig to deliver courses at five additional branches.
Digital tools to ease the transition “We are investing significantly in our sustainable offering, as well as a continued focus on digital capabilities,” says Hemal Morjaria, managing director - renewables & electrical at City Plumbing. “Developed by our in-house digital and heat pump technical teams, the heat pump kit-builder helps installers identify the best heat pump system for a home, with sufficient output based on
its heat loss, and then builds a kit of all the components for correct installation. “We wanted to encourage and support tradespeople in the ongoing transition to sustainable heating solutions, and the heat pump kit-builder makes it as easy and efficient as possible for heating engineers to specify the full list of components required for a specific heat pump, including everything from filters to communication cables. This saves the installer time, challenges beliefs on the complexity of heat pump specification, and ensures the homeowner gets the right heat pump for their property and needs,” says Morjaria. City Plumbing has also partnered with OpenSolar to offer trade customers access to solar design and proposal software free of charge, fully integrated within their City Plumbing account. This enables installers to create build-ready proposals in under two minutes, using 3D mapping to automatically calculate how many PV panels will fit onto a property’s roof, as well as pitch, azimuth and shading.
City Plumbing launches industry-first air source heat pump kit-builder
s part of its aim to make specifying and installing energy-efficient technologies as easy as possible, City Plumbing launched a new, online air source heat pump kit builder that is the first of its kind for the industry. Found at
heatpumpkit.com, the tool helps users identify a heat pump system that is suitable for the home where it is being installed in four
simple steps, before building a kit of all the components needed by the heating engineer for correct installation.
Developed by the merchant’s in-house digital and heat pump technical teams, heatpumpkit. com helps users select a suitable air source heat pump system for a property, with sufficient output based on its heat loss. Once the heat loss is calculated,
size before a complete kit is built for the installer, with options for collection or delivery from their local City Plumbing branch and visibility of the exact cost and stock availability.
heatpumpkit.com gives the user a choice of brand before presenting a range of heat pump options that provide sufficient output. The final step is choosing the cylinder
heatpumpkit.com launched in late February and has already received huge interest and support from heating engineers interested in making the transition to lower temperature heating systems.
A supplement to builders merchants journal June 2024
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 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78
