PHAM NEWS | JUNE 2024 8 News Review Umbrella


scheme takes burden off installers


Baxi has teamed up with national MCS Umbrella provider Abode Heat to offer installers support in participating in the growing market for retrofit air source heat pumps. Through Baxi, Abode Heat will be offering discounted rates for its ‘Heat Pump Go’ MCS Umbrella service, which enables installers to easily access grant funding. This means Abode Heat will take


responsibility for key parts of the heat pump installation project, such as the DNO application in order to connect the ASHP to the electricity supply, verifying the installation is MCS compliant, and ensuring the customer will benefit from the £7,500 grant currently available


involved in ASHP installations.” Baxi is also investing to double


through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). Abode effectively provides the back office engine, dealing with admin and paperwork, allowing installers to focus on the fitting and installation. Abode Heat director Ben Hodges


says: “There’s a disconnect between the different aspects


of what’s required to install an ASHP – training, grant applications, contract, design and calculations, MCS accreditation and commissioning included. Working alongside Baxi, we’re able to join those component parts up, making it simpler and more manageable for installers to get


the capacity of its Warwick based training facility to 1,600 installers per year, helping them to design, install and commission heat pumps alongside its traditional boiler business. By completing one of Baxi’s courses, the company will provide free-of- charge commissioning support for the first installation, and give installers access to Abode’s Heat Pump Go MCS Umbrella provision for 20% below the standard rate. Ian Trott, Baxi’s UK training manager, says: “We’ve teamed up with Abode to reduce the barriers installers need to overcome to get into lucrative ASHP installations, and to expand and deliver this important carbon reduction strategy. By enabling good installers, we’re helping to build confidence and trust among customers who are thinking about installing an ASHP as a clean heat solution for their homes.” ◼ phamnews.co.uk/624/04


NEWS IN BRIEF


◼ For four consecutive years, water treatment specialist Spirotech has once again been awarded the title ‘Great Place To Work Certified’ by the global authority that benchmarks employee performance


to advise


organisations on enhancing engagement.


◼ Heating solutions provider Taconova has opened a new production and warehousing facility in Boršov, Czech Republic, to expand its European manufacturing capacity. The new plant will produce pumps for heating, cooling and solar systems, as well as modularly designed heat interface units.


Plumbing skills sponsor


Following the signing of a three-year partnership deal, Ideal Heating is the headline sponsor of the SkillPLUMB competition. The manufacturer has been an established partner of competition organiser BPEC for a number of years via its training centres across the country. Now as part of this new relationship to support SkillPLUMB, Ideal will be providing boilers, unvented hot water cylinders and heat pump test rigs for the UK final. SkillPLUMB is the only plumbing industry competition aligned


to WorldSkills UK. Those who excel at the 2024 UK event may have the chance to compete at the international WorldSkills 2026 event in Shanghai, China. SkillPLUMB’s national qualifying heats started on 15th May at Burnley College, with a further seven heats taking place across the UK. In July the top eight highest scoring competitors from the heats will be invited to take part in the SkillPLUMB UK final, to be held the week of 18th November in Greater Manchester.


Electric firm challenges government policy plans


Yorkshire manufacturer Trust Electric Heating has met with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to discuss policy changes needed to support innovative, sustainable heating solutions and domestic industry growth in the UK’s journey to net zero. Trust’s founder and chief


engineer, Scott Conor, was invited to the meeting after providing feedback on the government’s definition of storage heaters through the Sustainable Energy Association. Conor shared his insights on the limitations of current heating policies and methodologies for calculating building energy performance. The discussion focused on


innovative heating technologies and their potential to revolutionise the industry’s transition to net zero. Conor addressed the challenges


posed by High Heat Retention (HHR) systems, currently the only electric options incentivised by the government as an alternative to heat pumps. He also highlighted the need


to revise policies that divert funding overseas, making it difficult for UK manufacturers to support the government’s decarbonisation goals. The DESNZ team acknowledged the requirement for policy adjustments to accommodate new sustainable heating solutions, and plans are underway to evaluate alternative electric heating systems.


◼ Gripple, a manufacturer of suspension solutions for construction and engineering applications, has been awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation for its trapeze bracket solution Fast Trak, a pre-fabricated bracket system. The award is one of only 59 given out this year.


◼ GF has announced that its GF Uponor division has been renamed as GF Building Flow Solutions.


Heat pump tariff discount


With the aim of making low carbon technology more affordable and to encourage the take up of heat pumps, British Gas has launched what is claimed to be the UK’s lowest heat pump rate. The new energy offering is available to all British Gas energy customers that purchase any air source heat pump from the company. British Gas is providing a unit rate of just 14p/kWh for the electricity


used to run the heat pump for the first year. It is estimated that households could save up to £450 for one year by switching to a heat pump, making use of the new rate and capping their gas meter, compared to heating a home with a D-rated gas boiler. The savings from the new rate will automatically be credited to energy bills each month. The energy supplier also offers a range of payment options including two years interest free credit.


Modern tech in museum exhibit


The Shoebox heat pump, manufactured by Kensa, has been added to the prestigious Science Museum collection as a green heating trailblazer. The British- made heat pump joins over seven million historic and significant items collected and documented by the Science Museum Group since 1851. The ‘little white box’, said to be


responsible for around a third of all UK ground source heat pump installations, is the first and only ground source heat pump


to be included in the collection. First launched in 2012, Shoebox heat pumps deliver green heat to thousands of homes and are thought to have helped lift numerous people out of fuel poverty. In addition to being


immortalised in the museum’s collection, the heat pump will be on display to the public as part of


◼ Stelrad’s Installer Loyalty Club has expanded its reward options to include Virgin Experience Days vouchers, in addition to existing options l ike radiator products, clothing, and gift vouchers. The program allows installers to redeem points earned from purchasing Stelrad radiators.


◼ For the third year running Amber Underfloor Heating will be acting as Gold Sponsors of the annual Tile Association Awards. The TTA Awards is designed to recognise the achievements of companies and individuals in the tiling sector.


the Science Museum’s new Adani Green Energy Gallery, where it will stand alongside other trailblazing energy transition products, such as the historic Bersey electric taxi cab and one of the world’s first rechargeable batteries. Tamsin Lishman, Kensa Heat


Pumps CEO, comments: “Street by street, Kensa is cleaning up heating across the UK. From heating tower blocks to terraces and new builds, the Shoebox is responsible for so much. Seeing our ‘little white box’ featured in this exhibition and immortalised in the Science Museum collection as a green heating pioneer is a remarkable achievement, but one this incredible product fully deserves.” ◼ phamnews.co.uk/624/05


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