EDF invests in heat pump installer CB Heating

EDF has entered into a strategic partnership with Heat Pump installer CB Heating, marking its first investment in the UK heat pump market.

EDF will partner with CB Heating for its customers' heat pump installations, offering its 3mn customers a complete installation journey through CB Heating’s Heat Pump Installer Network (HPIN) – with 500 approved heat pump installers in the UK. Details of the deal were undisclosed.

The announcement comes ahead of the Government’s launch of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which will provide customers with upfront grants of £5,000 to reduce the cost of installing eligible heat pump systems. The scheme will be open to voucher applications on May 23.

EDF’s investment will also support the development of a Heat Pump Installers Network Academy, delivering training to upskill engineers across the country. Currently, there are less than 4,000 qualified heat pump installers (according to the latest MCS estimates) in the UK compared to more than 100,000 gas safe engineers. The Academy has the potential to train up to 4,000 new heat pump installers from autumn 2022. 

With more than 20 years’ experience in the heat pump market having installed their first heat pump in 2000, CB Heating has a proven track record of delivering installations and excellent customer service.

Lord Callanan, Business and Energy Minister, said with £5,000 grants becoming available through the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme, heat pumps are going to be the affordable, convenient and obvious choice for consumers looking to replace a gas or oil boiler. 

“This will open up huge opportunities for private sector investment, which companies like EDF and CB Heating are already taking advantage of, ensuring installers are ready to help households move to cleaner heating to keep their homes warm and avoid the volatile prices of fossil fuels," he said.

Philippe Commaret, Managing Director of Customers at EDF, said the more we can do now to invest in decarbonisation and help Britain move away from gas, the better we will be able to protect households from the volatility of global fossil fuel markets. 

“EDF is already helping Britain achieve Net Zero through its strategic investments in wind, nuclear, solar, electric vehicles and battery storage. I am delighted that we are now making this strategic investment in and partnering with CB Heating, whose experience and excellence in the heat pump market makes them a stand-out installer," he said. 

He said this is is the first step in delivering on its long-term strategy of heat decarbonisation. "Through investment in training and upskilling engineers in each region of the country through the unique HPIN academy, this ambitious and regionally focussed approach will see EDF working with smaller businesses and local installers to help Britain achieve net zero," he said. 

Clayton Browne, Managing Director, CB Heating, said the creation of its Heat Pump Installer Network – HPIN has enabled it to carry out installations on a national scale by working with local heating companies across the UK, drawing on 20 years of specialist knowledge.

"Customers can have the confidence of buying from a national company they can trust whilst supporting small business locally, with the backing of Britain’s biggest generator of Zero Carbon electricity," he said.