Heat Geek, a sustainable energy start-up, recently completed a Seed funding round of £3.7 million, bringing their funds raised in 2023 to £4.2 million. The company intends to use these funds to support their mission of decarbonizing homes nationwide through heat pump technology. Approximately half of the UK’s yearly gas consumption goes towards heating, but Heat Geek aims to change that. By using electric heat pumps instead of gas or oil burning systems, homeowners can reduce their energy consumption by around 80%. However, with only 25,000 heat pumps installed in private homes last year, the government’s target of installing 250,000 heat pumps a year by 2025 appears challenging to achieve without addressing the issue of limited qualified installers.
At present, only 3,000 qualified heat pump installers exist in the UK, compared to 120,000 qualified gas engineers. Experts believe that the country will require 27,000 more qualified installers by 2028 to achieve the government’s targets. To address this shortfall, Heat Geek has developed a digital platform for heating engineers to offer a vast business opportunity, as well as training, funds, and service expansion. This platform will enable Heat Geek certified installers to access unique tools such as a digital surveying and system design process, a training and community hub, and MSC certification, which will guarantee the most efficient Heat Pump installations in the country.
One of Heat Geek’s key factors in its success to date is its fantastic community of installers, which has 80,000 social media subscribers and 1,000 trained installers across the UK. Heat Geek’s CEO Aadil Qureshi explained that “our solution is simple – train thousands of existing heating engineers and give them the skills, knowledge and tools to unlock the support for thousands of homeowners wanting to decarbonize their homes and save money on their energy bills.”
Heat Geek has established partnerships with numerous businesses, including OVO Energy and, most recently, Resi, a digital-first renovation and extension service. The company’s focus remains on empowering local heating engineers to help homeowners reduce their carbon footprint while also saving money. Founder Adam Chapman stated that “our focus is empowering local heating engineers that have been keeping homeowners warm for decades. These engineers are best placed to upskill and guide their customers on the journey to adopt Heat Pumps.”
Kristian Branaes, partner at lead investor Transition, credited Heat Geek as the only company with a credible plan for how the industry can transform from within. By building on the fantastic community that Adam and the Heat Geeks have already created and using technology to help it scale, they can decarbonize heat to provide a significant opportunity while reducing carbon emissions, giving homeowners more value and living comfortably.
