PHAM NEWS | APRIL 2024 22 Energy SavingProducts


we are experiencing a growth in the retrofi t market. People are concerned about increasing energy costs, and looking at where they can invest money now to reduce their fuel bills in the future. There have been some fundamental


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changes in the consumer market over the last few years, not least because potential customers are doing extensive research to fi nd out what technologies are available to them before they call their heating engineer. This is a pivotal shift that aff ects the whole customer journey. In the past, the installer may have prescribed a straight swap, particularly when a gas boiler needed replacing. Now, many homeowners are worried that boilers are going to be phased out, so they are starting to think about their options and telling their installers what they want. Since the end of the pandemic and


with the cost-of-living crisis, there’s been a dampening of consumer appetite to spend a lot of money on a major renovation project like a complete heat pump installation. But they’ve been doing their research and already have a good idea about what could be the right fi t for their fi rst stepping stones towards decarbonising their home.


Filling the gaps One of the biggest challenges in the heating industry is the shortage of well-trained installers. There are some fantastic heating engineers out there – and we’ve got some brilliant ones on our network – who really take pride in their work, as can be seen from the pictures they post on social media. But, sadly, there just aren’t enough. We could triple the number and there still wouldn’t be enough, especially if we are to meet the government targets for heat pump installations! We’ve just brought in our new trainer,


Roy Fugler, to set up training courses on our products. We are also getting him involved in the early development stages of products to think about the installer journey and how easy it would be for them to intuitively understand the products versus having to study the manual. I fi rmly believe that installers are


increasingly going to need more skills, and in the near future there won’t be the current delineation between being a gas installer and an electrician. Once they’ve completed their gas and plumbing qualifi cations, they know they are skilled enough to become a qualifi ed electrician as well! After all, heat pumps have pipes and wires, so it makes sense to be qualifi ed to do both. I get very cross when I hear people


complaining about ‘young people’, because we’ve got the privilege of having some great young talent working for us in an R&D capacity, and also some young installers as customers. Despite having gone through the


pandemic, they are very hard working, very switched on emotionally and very savvy. If I’m honest, they are way above where I was at their age.


Pete Armstrong CEO at Mixergy


hile, like most businesses in the heating industry, we’ve seen a slowdown in newbuild specifi cation,


Opportunities to unlock the savings


The heating industry is experiencing growth in the retrofi t market due to concerns over rising energy costs, and customers are looking to have conversations with their installers about what they can do to save on their household energy bills, says Mixergy’s Pete Armstrong.


 A wide choice of cylinders are available from Mixergy, including the iHP, which is claimed to be three times more energy effi cient than a standard direct cylinder in effi ciency mode and is engineered to use as little refrigerant as possible


New products We’ve got some exciting products to share! The Mixergy iHP X integrated heat pump cylinder is attracting a lot of interest. Unlike other integrated heat pump cylinders on the market, it is modular. This means it is easier to transport and easier to service and maintain, because the heat pump and cylinder are separate. It uses our patented Stratos technology to boost hot water generation, heating it from the top down, so that useable hot water can be available in under 30 minutes. We’re looking forward to launching


Mixergy Cube X which is a discreetly sized unit that will provide heating and hot water when space is at a premium, for example in smaller apartments. It uses our patented volumetric heating technology to provide hot water only or space heating and hot water. It can also be integrated with solar PV and connected to a heat pump to deliver both space heating and hot water, removing the need for two cylinders.


Customers are doing their own research and already have a good idea about their first steps towards decarbonising their homes


 Mixergy is set to launch the Cube X, a compact and versatile solution for effi cient space heating and hot water, suitable for smaller properties. The unit combines patented volumetric heating technology with solar PV integration and heat pump connectivity.


Future facing As demand grows for more energy effi cient and environmentally friendly solutions, we are also trying to practice what we preach. We considered our operational and embodied carbon, which is often overlooked. Our premises were old farm buildings, which we have repurposed. We have replaced the leaky old asbestos roof with a brand new insulated roof. We have decommissioned oil boilers and put in solar PV, heat pumps and an infrared system. We are also using our buildings as a test bed for Cube X. Our long-term vision for the business


is to off er domestic hot water and space heating products that will make us the most fl exible provider connected to the electricity grid. We’ll do this by giving our customers the ability to take control of their energy consumption, reduce their energy bills, and optimise the use of renewable energy. ◼ phamnews.co.uk/424/30


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