PHAM NEWS | NOVEMBER 2026 24 HeatPumps T
here is no substitute for fi rst-hand experience when it comes to building confi dence in a new heating technology. For oil and gas
installers looking to add heat pumps to their off ering, living with a system themselves provides useful insight that can support both their own product knowledge and conversations with customers. Off ered by Grant UK in partnership with Nesta, Start with Grant gives installers the opportunity to gain that experience in their own homes.
Start with Grant The idea behind Start with Grant is simple: eligible installers fi t one of our air source heat pumps in their own property, fully funded through the Government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). The package includes a Grant Aerona 290 air source heat pump of up to 12kW, the Aerona Smart Controller, a hot water cylinder of up to 210 litres, a 50-litre volumiser and our heat pump installation pack. Training, system design support and commissioning by a Grant engineer are also provided. The scheme is open to installers in England and Wales who do not already work with heat pumps and is delivered in partnership with Grant’s MCS partner Heat Pump Go. The fi rst step after signing up is
heat pump training. Our Training Academy books each installer onto the next available heat pump course near them, or they can complete it online through our eLearning Academy. Grant and Heat Pump Go then work with the installer on a full heat loss calculation and size the system, while Heat Pump Go handles the BUS voucher and DNO applications. The products are delivered directly to
the installer’s home where the installer then fi ts the system. Once installed, an engineer visits to check the installation and commission the heat pump, with Heat Pump Go signing it off as an MCS certifi ed installation. Technical support is available by phone and online throughout. After MCS sign-off , the installer also receives £1,500 towards their installation costs from Grant, which is allocated from the remaining BUS funding.
Join the club The benefi ts extend beyond the installer’s own home. Participants become eligible to join our G1 Installer Scheme, unlocking a seven-year guarantee on their own heat pump and on future customer installations. As G1 installers, they can also access our MCS partnership scheme, delivered in partnership with Heat Pump Go, which enables them to off er customers access to BUS funding without needing to hold MCS certifi cation themselves. This is important for smaller businesses taking their fi rst steps into renewables. Installers applying for the scheme
must have a valid EPC showing that their property has an existing fossil fuel or direct electric heating system. They must also hold a Level 2/3 plumbing and
Once installed, a Grant engineer visits to check the installation and commission the heat pump, with Heat Pump Go signing it off as an MCS certifi ed installation
From training to installation with complete support
Training manager Phil Stanley explains how the Start with Grant scheme is helping oil and gas installers take their fi rst steps into heat pumps by gaining experience in their own homes. With guidance from Grant and its partners throughout the process, installers can build confi dence in a real-world setting, knowing they do not have to make the move into low-carbon heating alone.
heating or City & Guilds qualifi cation
plus current WRAS and G3 unvented hot water qualifi cations. Full terms and conditions are available on our website.
Training provision Training is central to Start with Grant
and is delivered by our Training Academy in Swindon. For those who cannot travel to Wiltshire, courses are also delivered through our regional training partners, while the eLearning Academy also off ers on-demand online courses. Once installers have completed their
Aerona 290 heat pump training, which covers installation, commissioning and servicing, they can progress with Start with Grant. However, the training does not have
to stop with R290 heat pump training. There is a wide range of available courses delivered through Training Academy, including free one-day product courses and the Air Source Heat Pump System Design course, which covers heat loss calculations, heat pump and emitter
sizing and MCS020 sound assessments. The academy can also take installers
Phil Stanley Training manager at Grant UK
even further. OFTEC courses in air source heat pump installation, commissioning and servicing, and in heat pump system design are available separately or as a combined four-day course and allow installers to apply for OFTEC registration and MCS certifi cation. For those who meet the eligibility requirements, government funding is currently available for this training.
An installer’s experience Tom Newman, director of Hindhead- based Newman Combustion Ltd, has
spent more than 20 years installing gas and oil boilers and has been a Grant
G1 installer since 2017. After moving into a 1960s timber-frame bungalow in
summer 2025, off the gas grid and heated by costly night storage heaters, he signed up to Start with Grant.
The Start with Grant package includes an Aerona 290 air source heat pump up to 12kW, an Aerona Smart Controller, a hot water cylinder up to 210 litres, a 50-litre volumiser and a heat pump installation pack
Tom completed the Aerona 290 installer course online through the eLearning Academy. Our in-house Design Team reviewed his home’s heat loss and calculated the correct size of heat pump and system needed to meet the property’s heating and hot water demand. Alongside installing the Aerona
290 heat pump, Tom also chose to upgrade the wall and loft insulation and add wet underfl oor heating. One of our in-house engineers then commissioned the system. As part of the Start with Grant
scheme, Tom was able to add Air Source
Heat Pump Accreditation to his G1 membership and activated a seven-year
guarantee on his Aerona 290 heat pump. “Start with Grant provides a great
opportunity for engineers like me to get to grips with heat pumps fi rst-hand through upgrading their own heating system,” says Tom. “This was a good chance to use many of the skills I had learnt on the tools as a Gas Safe engineer and an oil boiler installer. It felt like the perfect real-world test and real proof for the people I advise that heat pumps are
actually an option for them.” ◼
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