Beyond boilers: the benefits of diversification

In a welcome revolution of demand for renewables, the most flexible and fastest-growing option by far is the air source heat pump. With more installers diversifying their services and responding to the changing industry, we caught up with one experienced plumbing and heating engineer who decided to make the leap earlier than most. ​

N A Guppy Ltd was founded in Devon in 1963, and Stephen Guppy has been part of the family business for more than 40 years. With most of that experience spent installing boilers, Stephen’s first heat pump projects came in 2013:

Hear from Stephen:

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“We were drawn to renewables mainly ​through being a countryside company, ​where many landowners and rural​homeowners were being encouraged​ to invest due to government incentives.”

Grants and support programmes are available to lower the costs and incentivise the uptake of renewable tech. Starting in 2006 with the Low Carbon Building Programme, then with 2011’s Renewable Heat Incentive, and into the currently active Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Energy Company Obligation, and Clean Heat Market Mechanism. That’s good news for customers and good news for installers – but there are other benefits beyond sales:​

“Diversifying has fundamentally changed our business for the better, allowing us to work closer to the building process. We now work more closely with architects, manufacturers, and design teams – which helps us to understand and promote this area. For any installers thinking of doing the same, there’s plenty of training available and it’s easier than you think to learn how.” ​

We’re committed to developing better technology for the future, to give homeowners the widest range of choice possible – and we’re here to help you get up to speed with the change.​

Worcester Bosch Installers have access to a range of heat pump training – available in four UK training academies, as well as online and on-the-road with mobile trainers around the country.