Heatio launches heat as a service trial

Lucy Dixon Head of Content

09.12.2022

Lucy Dixon spoke to Heatio’s Simon Roberts about its heat-as-a-service pilot, involving a domestic hybrid heat pump installation.

Heatio has started a heat-as-a-service (HaaS) trial, involving a hybrid system with a heat pump installed alongside an existing gas boiler, designed for the boiler to kick in whenever it is the more efficient way of heating the property. The installation of a Samsung EHS Mono HT Quiet, took place last month after a year of studying the property’s data.

Simon Roberts, Heatio’s founder, says: “Our ‘Heat Pump Ready’ energy model uses AI and machine learning to predict the heat pump’s performance based on a combination of smart meter data and discrete temperature sensors.

“The aim is to give consumers a clear understanding of the running costs and energy demand before installing the heat pump. Once the heat pump has been installed, we continue to monitor the system and work with the homeowner to identify periodic improvements which can be made to reduce flow temperatures. For instance, if we drop the flow temperature by 5 degrees and find one room is struggling, the radiator can be upgraded. This approach allows customers to upgrade and improve efficiency when their budget allows. This ongoing monitoring and support is all included in the HaaS package.”

The customer has been told that the boiler will only run when it is more cost effective to do so, outside of that it will stick with the heat pump. Simon says: “We will deliver renewable heat to a customer’s house – and the customer is paying nothing for it to be installed. So they’re going to stick with their existing combi boiler doing the hot water. We’re literally tapping the heat pump into the flow and return and keeping the existing radiators. We recognise the long term value in that heat pump and at the end of his warranty term, it’s still worth about £700, so we will bring it back and we’ll recondition it. So the customer pays nothing for the installation, but they will be paying for the heat generated.”

Simon acknowledges that some sections of the industry aren’t fans of the hybrid approach and don’t think a heat pump system will work affordably without changing the radiators. He says: “My approach is that I’m going to prove them wrong with data and facts.” From a consumer’s point of view, Heatio’s offering certainly overcomes several of the biggest barriers to heat pumps – cost, upheaval caused by the installation and doubt over whether it will work effectively.

The HaaS model, particularly one that doesn’t involve upgrading other parts of the property, will appeal to people who either don’t have the money to pay for a heat pump installation – and any accompanying retrofit work that is needed – or are nervous about giving up their gas boiler completely and want to try a heat pump in a low-risk way.

And Simon’s hoping, once the project has been assessed early next year, that it’s a model that can be rolled out at scale. He says: “The strategic objective is to be in a position where we can offer this to customers, who either don’t want or can’t have big changes to their houses, but still want a heat pump. We maintain ownership of the heat pump for its lifetime, and they pay for the heat it generates.”

Simon is confident the customer will be happy with the system, and has shared that since the install just a few weeks ago, they haven’t noticed any difference in terms of how comfortable they are at home. “Will it meet the demands of the customer? I believe it will,” he says. As the temperature has dropped this week, Simon says the boiler has indeed kicked in, as the system is designed for it to do. “We are monitoring this installation closely against the p/kWh of gas and electric to identify the actual switching point.” He says there will be lots more data to come with the IoT devices going in later this month in the metering and monitoring system.