The Autumn Budget 2026 has brought welcome news for heat pump installers and homeowners, with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme protected and £400 million in annual funding confirmed.
Alto Energy welcomes the launch of the Warm Homes Loan Scheme and explains how local plumbers can offer loan-funded, MCS-certified heat pumps through the Alto Assured MCS Umbrella Scheme.
Already have a heat pump? Find out how battery storage could help you make better use of cheaper electricity tariffs, reduce running costs and decide whether a battery is right for your home.
Find out how Start at Home works for heating engineers and installers in Scotland, including the upcoming webinar, available funding and heat pump training opportunities.
The UK, like many other countries, is striving to decarbonise all sectors of the economy to meet net zero targets. This goal, along with the on-going issues with energy prices means that there is a growing demand for products that will make homes energy efficient. Whilst many new builds are being developed with energy efficiency in mind, it’s important to remember that the biggest benefit will be seen by retrofitting most of the UK’s homes with products that will reduce energy consumption.
Last month, Santander released a new report stating that UK House Buyers were willing to pay a premium for energy efficient properties. The study which surveyed 2,300 buyers found that energy efficiency was one of the most desirable features of a home, ranking higher than a large garden or a home office. Right now, buyers are placing a 9.4% premium on green properties, which is great news for anyone who has installed or is intending to install a heat pump at their property. On average, buyers were willing to pay £26,600 more for a green property which is considerably more than the cost of installing a heat pump.
The last few Autumns and Winters really have been a bit crazy when it comes to heat pump and hot water cylinder stock. Before the pandemic hit, most manufacturers had no ongoing stock issues however from 2020 onwards there has been a dramatic change, meaning we can no longer assume there will never be any issues with the supply chain. We therefore decided to make a big change to our distribution strategy. We extended our warehouse capacity so that we could significantly increase the quantities of both heat pumps and hot water cylinders from various manufacturers so that we could hold in stock ourselves.
Wow, what a great turn out we had at this years event. First off, all of us at Alto Energy would like to thank everyone who came to visit us at the exhibition; it was great meeting you all. We always enjoy meeting customers in person and hearing about your upcoming projects. We had a broad range of conversations this year, ranging from how heat pumps work, all the way to discussing details based on plans attendees had brought to us at the show.
The last three months of the year are always the busiest for any heating business. The start of the winter heating season is always the time when any gremlins in the heating season reveal themselves; it’s also the time when it becomes important to get new heat pumps commissioned, switched on and getting heat into the property. As a result, the demand on our team of heat pump engineers is higher than at any other time.
We recently joined our Commissioning Engineer, Martin, on a new-build development in Oxfordshire, where he was commissioning Samsung Gen 6 air source heat pumps. The project is a good example of how we work with developers and heating installers, from system design and equipment supply through to commissioning and ongoing support.
On Tuesday, the BBC and many other media outlets published articles highlighting the concerns experts had regarding hydrogen as a home heating system and compared it to more efficient alternatives such as heat pumps. The article also looked into a new study that reviewed 32 pieces of literature relating to the merits of using hydrogen for domestic heating.
On the 5th-9th October, Alto Energy will be exhibiting at Grand Designs Live at the NEC in Birmingham. Come and visit us on stand B643 to find out more about our range of Air Source Heat Pumps, Ground Source Heat Pumps and Underfloor Heating products. Our experts will be on-hand to talk you through what we have to offer and answer any questions you may have.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme officially launched on 23rd May, and since then we’ve been busy making applications on our customer’s behalf for their heat pump installations. Throughout June we started to receive pay-outs from Ofgem under the scheme, which provides either £5,000 or £6,000 towards the cost of installing an air source or ground source heat pump.
Following the start of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant for heat pumps, Alto Energy is excited to launch their new Alto Assured Heat Pump Installer Scheme at this year’s Installer Show at the NEC in Birmingham. The new scheme provides the best way for installers to quickly gain access to the heat pump market and install properly designed and commissioned heat pump systems.
