Nesta, a research and innovation foundation, said on 15 August 2022 that it had moved from discovery to a live pilot for a service that lets people interested in a heat pump see one working in real life. The organisation said it had spent the previous two months developing and validating the pilot, and that it would launch a small-scale pilot in September to take members of the public through the service end to end and establish whether the model works1.
The pilot follows earlier work. Nesta said it had spoken with two homeowners who had recently run heat pump open days in their own homes in London and Glasgow, and had met green open homes organisations including the Centre for Sustainable Energy, SuperHomes, Home Energy Scotland and Energy Saving Homes Oxford1. It also met a heat pump manufacturer to understand how products are communicated to consumers and engineers through public showrooms and mobile events1.
By 21 September, Nesta said it had launched a live service at www.visitaheatpump.com, describing it as a high-fidelity prototype intended to test the visitor journey and key touch points1. It said it was about to start welcoming visitors who had signed up for eight different events across four locations in London and Glasgow, with hosts including two private homeowners with heat pumps and two installer showrooms1.
"We are seeing very positive signs of real demand, with over 150 sign ups in two weeks from a small amount of direct promotion."
Nesta said its modelling, based on UK household data, had shown that a combination of show homes and other kinds of public showroom would probably be required to reach a large enough audience1. It said it had identified time-intensive points in the service, such as scheduling events with hosts, and potential improvements for keeping users engaged if they sign up but cannot visit immediately1. The site was to remain open for further sign ups, and Nesta said it was looking at opportunities to run visits in other locations1.
Why it matters for households
For a household weighing up a heat pump, the gap between reading about the technology and seeing one installed and running in an ordinary home is often the point where a decision stalls. A visit to a heat pump scheme puts a householder in front of a working system and, in Nesta's model, in front of the people who live with one. Nesta said its target users were likely to have a pre-existing interest in buying a heat pump but still have questions to answer before deciding1. It also said simple resources and advice before a visit could help people understand the technology and their own home, and that connecting visitors with clear directions on what to do afterwards could make the service more effective1. The wider context is covered in our heat pumps pages.
What happens next
Nesta said visits by signed-up users would happen over the week following its 21 September update, with surveys before and after attendance and more in-depth conversations with visitors and hosts to follow1. It said it was planning an event to share learning from the work so far and explore how it could grow with other partners1. No date for that event, and no figures on costs or funding, have been reported.
Sources1 cited
- Heat pump show home: our running progress | Nesta, nesta.org.uk