Site installation images were commissioned by SolarEdge
Griff Thomas, MD for GTEC & Heatly, talks to elemental about renewables training and why Heatly will be a game-changer for installers and the wider industry.
Could you tell us about what’s been happening lately at GTEC and Heatly?
There have been lots of exciting developments across both companies. GTEC has grown massively over the last three years through our partnership model, working with builders’ merchants, such as City Plumbing, other training providers and manufacturers (SolarEdge and Weinerberger, for example), to deliver training nationwide – including the Channel Islands.
For SolarEdge and Weinerberger we have created bespoke courses, which cover the specifics of their products. This approach has seen GTEC-approved training locations pop-up all over the country – 23 and counting so far this year alone!
GTEC has also expanded its offering to deliver more than just renewables training. The addition of online insulation courses and retrofit assessment, means we can offer a holistic range of courses, that lead to whole house efficiency and target a broader cross-section of candidates. This year, we built a ‘house’ in our Hawes HQ to help demonstrate the practical elements of energy efficiency upgrades.
Heatly is on the cusp of big things! For those that don’t know, Heatly is a new app set to change heat pump system design, by speeding-up, simplifying and improving the accuracy of complex and long-winded processes such as heat loss calculations and whole-house surveying. We’re currently getting ready to launch a version of the app that can be tested by installers and others in the industry.
Installer and elemental readers will soon be able to sign-up to our first webinar where the Heatly team will be demonstrating the app’s capabilities.
Heatly will be a real game-changer for all installers and we’re also starting our partnerships with bigger organisations interested in using Heatly’s functionality to improve their own operations – including energy providers, wholesalers and manufacturers.
The big news is that the United Living Group, a leading infrastructure, construction, and property services company, took a majority stake share in both businesses at the end of June (we announced this at InstallerSHOW).
This investment will allow GTEC to expand its training provision to our existing clients and installers and accelerate Heatly’s market deployment, whilst also supporting United Living in its own training requirements. The sectors both companies work in are complimentary and the potential of Heatly’s technology is also an excellent fit.
GTEC has already launched a Working at Heights course designed specifically for Solar PV installers since the acquisition – watch this space for more new courses and further collaboration as our relationship develops.
What does ULG’s acquisition mean for you and your customers?
For our customers its business as usual and we will continue to offer high quality training in our core areas, but there is growth and lots of new courses ‘coming soon’.
For GTEC itself, joining the United Living Group is the ideal pairing and we’re looking forward to the opportunities this investment will bring. Like us, United Living is committed to promoting and contributing to a sustainable future, and through their support we can deliver our industry leading renewables training to a wider audience, as well as diversifying across infrastructure and other sectors and directly supporting United Living’s own training needs.
This is an exciting stage in GTEC and Heatly’s journey, and we’re pleased to have the backing of such a well-respected organisation.
What new courses might we see from GTEC following the acquisition?
As mentioned, we have introduced a Working at Heights course for Solar PV installers and have plans for other courses in this area, including mast access, rigging and First Aid at Height. There are a number of other Health & Safety courses, such as IOSH, First Aid at Work and Avoiding Dangers when Digging coming soon. Other construction and infrastructure courses are also in the pipeline.
Some of this training will be delivered face to face, but we also have a cutting-edge online learning platform so candidates can access courses dynamically on any internet enabled device.
Where is the biggest skills gap, in your opinion, and what is being done to address it?
In GTEC’s traditional sector of renewables there is still a massive shortfall of heat pump installers. A recent industry poll by Nesta showed that demand for heat pumps is still too low (40% of respondents stated this), but despite this almost a third (30%) of the people Nesta spoke to said finding skilled staff to carry out heat pump work was a barrier. To meet targets, the industry will require about 37,000 installers by 2030, compared with about 3,000 today, so 4,000 to 6,000 new installers need to be trained up every year.
The takeaway from Nesta’s report is that if you’re a heating engineer, upskilling into heat pumps will futureproof your business – even if you’re not currently being asked about heat pumps. With the Heat Training Grant back, I would urge any gas installers to use this opportunity, it will ensure complete versatility as the UK transitions away from fossil fuels.
In terms of the specific skills, it is undeniable that heat pump system design is more complex than a gas boiler. Accuracy is essential to ensure the right sized unit and therefore an efficient, cost-effective system that keeps the customer warm. This can be off-putting for some installers, but hopefully Heatly will go some way to alleviate these challenges.
Using the latest technologies, such as open access scanning and 3D modelling, and drawing on extensive industry heat pump and building performance data, heat pump projects supported by Heatly will benefit from greater accuracy and collective expertise. Just put in the right information and Heatly will do the calculations for you!
What sets GTEC’s training apart?
GTEC is the only training provider in the UK that has focussed solely on renewables for the last 20 years. We stuck to our guns when ‘green’ building services fell out of favour due to ineffective schemes such as the Green Deal, and it’s paid off! I am passionate about a low carbon future and installers training through GTEC centres can be sure of best-in-class training. I have personally been involved in many of the regulated renewable qualifications currently available in the UK, working to develop these programmes alongside LCL Awards.
We are constantly looking for ways to evolve to meet the needs of individual installers and the market in general. Our recent partnerships are testament to this – delivering courses from builders’ merchants, for example, gives installers easy access to upskilling in a location they visit on a regular basis. Working with manufacturers is also key, they are the instigators of technological development, ensuring our courses are as current as they can be.
When will Heatly be available to use? What do you predict its impact will be on the sector?
As mentioned, we are hosting a demo session with elemental and Installer for Heatly in September. At this point, there will be a usable version for some installers to trial. By early 2025, the first iteration of Heatly will be on heating engineers’ phones – this is just the beginning, however.
Heatly has so much scope – for heat pumps and beyond. It’s not just for installers, either; Heatly will provide a valuable communication tool and place to access information for consumers, including system documentation, guidance on energy efficiency upgrades and the money they could save, and the best energy tariffs.
How have you seen attitudes to heat pumps changing in recent years – both from installers and end users?
While a selection of national newspapers continue to trash heat pumps and make them out to be some monstrous part of the erosion of Britain, overall, the tide is turning on public opinion. There are now thousands of satisfied heat pump customers outnumbering the neigh sayers and countless well-respected reports confirming their effectiveness.
Although they are some who still cling onto the idea that hydrogen is going to be the answer domestically, more and more installers and consumers are coming round to the idea that heat pumps are the primary solution for the decarbonisation of heating and hot water in the average UK home.
What more do you think needs to be done, as a country, to meet our heat pump targets?
What’s crucial now is that Labour sticks to its policies and avoids the U-turns and back-tracking we saw with the previous government – this is extremely damaging and dents confidence.
A concerted effort to end misinformation is also key and move away from the negative rhetoric surrounding decarbonisation.
Financial support for both end users and installers will help oil the wheels but even with the BUS, the cost of a new heat pump install is still prohibitive for many people. Hopefully the price of heat pumps will come down as demand increases and Labour’s plans for low-cost loans to fund energy efficiency upgrades (including heat pumps) look promising.
The elephant in the room is of course the ‘Spark Gap’, something which the European Heat Pump Association has outlined in a recent report. The UK has the biggest spark gap in Europe (the price difference between gas and electricity) and the lowest heat pump take-up; it’s fairly obvious that if this was reduced, the cost saving benefits of swapping a gas boiler for a heat pump would become more appealing. I must stress here, that any reduction in electricity prices must not come at the expense of gas customers – it would be ridiculous to penalise the majority of the UK for the benefit of what is currently a few heat pump owners.
