Optimising heat pumps and electric boilers to minimise capital costs and customer bills will be essential to realising the government’s ambitious plans for heat networks. Max Fordham’s Adam Reeve looks at three routes to affordable heat, including storage, Grid balancing and hybrid heat sources
Tag: heat pumps
Cooling the suburbs: air-to-air heat pumps
John Greengrass MCIBSE specified reversible air-to-air heat pumps for his 1930s semi-detached house, to supplement his solar heating – but the cooling function is now proving its worth, writes Alex Smith
View from the summit: key lessons from decarbonisation and heat pump conferences
The CIBSE Heat Pump Summit provided insight and lessons learned at the Manly Trust Skills Hub. Alex Smith and Cathy King report
Heat Pump Research Symposium: From performance to practice
What is really limiting heat pump deployment? Tim Dwyer looks at barriers and opportunities after considering research and evidence presented at the government’s recent heat pump symposium
Redefining with retrofit: CIBSE’s Building Performance Champion
The University of Auckland’s B201 is one of the world’s most sustainable academic buildings. Andy Pearson explores how CIBSE’s 2026 Building Performance Champion used deep retrofit and building services engineering to transform the 1970s campus
A match made in heritage: heat pumps in historic buildings
Large heat pumps can perform well in historical properties, but only if designers understand the context of the setting and its use, says a new report from Historic England. Alex Smith highlights lessons learned
Why proven heat pumps still struggle to scale
The successful adoption of heat pumps is affected by complexity, compatibility and user experience, according to UC Davis research. Tim Dwyer looks at how consumer uncertainty threatens the rollout of heat pumps into the mainstream
Setting the standard for social housing
Social housing retrofits can meet the upcoming UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, but the costs are high, says ECD Architects’ Loreana Padron, based on a 48-homes Cambridge City Council pilot delivered by the practice
Bridging the heat pump efficiency divide
Real-world analysis of domestic heat pump installations has identified underlying reasons for system underperformance. Alex Smith looks at the study paper’s recommendations, which the authors say could reduce household’s annual energy costs by 26%
Bridging the heat pump efficiency divide
Real-world analysis of domestic heat pump installations has identified underlying reasons for system underperformance. Alex Smith looks at the study paper’s recommendations, which the authors say could reduce annual energy costs by 26%