Nesta, a research and innovation foundation, launched a beta version of the Get a Heat Pump website in November 2023, with the stated aim of testing the tool in the real world with real users1. The project that produced the site ran from June 2023 to October 20241.
The site was built as an online service giving households information to work through the heat pump installation process. Nesta said the project drew on user research, prototyping and behavioural insights, and that the beta was launched with analytics tracking user behaviour and gathering feedback1. Within four months of launch, the site had over 35,000 views and hundreds of pieces of feedback from users1.
In the first half of 2024, Nesta and The MCS Foundation worked in partnership to develop and enhance the site, focusing on user experience and functionality, expanding content and providing accurate, personalised information to potential heat pump adopters1. Nesta also set out to establish a long-term delivery partnership with The MCS Foundation to maintain, keep up to date and grow service usage and impact1.
Nesta's account of why the work was done cites foundational research with the Energy Saving Trust in 2021, which it says showed demand for better online information on heat pumps1. It states that researching how to get a heat pump can be overwhelming, that information is often confusing, spread across multiple sources and overly generic, and that many potential adopters abandon the process at an early stage1. Nesta says its research has consistently found that users want real examples of installations, transparency around cost, certainty about the installation process and information that enables concrete steps towards getting a heat pump1.
Why it matters for households
Household decisions on heating are shaped by what information is available and how easy it is to act on. Nesta's stated finding is that the difficulty is not a total absence of information but its dispersal and generic quality, which it links to people dropping out of the process early1. A single service that sets out installation examples, cost transparency and process certainty addresses that gap directly, and the reported 35,000 views in four months indicate that households were seeking it out1.
For a home's energy independence, the practical relevance is the point at which a household moves from considering a heat pump to commissioning one. Nesta frames the site's purpose as enabling users to take concrete steps towards installation1. The partnership with The MCS Foundation, which runs the certification scheme for installers, is described by Nesta as intended to improve the quality and consistency of information provided about heat pumps by the sector, as well as to maintain and grow the service1.
What happens next
Nesta states the project started in June 2023 and ended in October 20241. It describes a long-term delivery partnership with The MCS Foundation to maintain, keep up to date and grow service usage and impact, and objectives covering a relaunch of an improved version of the service, better support for consumers proceeding with installation, and improved reach via backlinks, advertising and organic searches1. No dates for a relaunch or for further phases have been reported1.