3rd June 2024: Data by green tech company, Thermly, has found that 85% of all homes in the Somerset region are suitable for the installation of a heat pump. The data shows that from a total of 252,813 residential properties in the Somerset Council area, 212,589 could benefit from the installation of a heat pump.
Gareth Robertson, co-founder of Thermly, said: “Somerset is a very forward-thinking, green-minded part of the country and with so many eligible properties, the opportunity to future-proof homes and move us all towards more sustainable energy choices is significant.”
Thermly Hub, which provided data for this study - and which also provides the data for the UK’s Green Building Council’s (UKGBC https://ukgbc.org) national level housing analysis tool - also found that if every property that could benefit from a heat pump in the region actually converted to the technology, the overall environmental impact would be enormous. Somerset would generate a lifetime saving of over 12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, and a 61.5 billion kWh reduction in energy usage*.
Gareth Robertson continues: “The UK Government is working towards a net zero target by 2050, with the aim of installing 600,000 heat pumps each year by 2028 to help meet this ambition. Many may think it's the Government's responsibility to meet these targets, but it is in fact all of our responsibility to look after the world in which we live.
At Thermly, we want to support homeowners in making planet positive decisions, so we help them install heat pumps quickly and easily, enabling an energy efficient, low carbon way to heat homes and futureproofing them for years to come. As these figures show, we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions our homes release and the amount of energy we use across our lifetimes.”
Thermly has recently announced its partnership with Retrofit Somerset, a collaborative project to support the installation of heat pumps into homes across the Somerset region.
This first-of-its-kind project will pave the way for a large-scale roll-out of heat pump installations in homes. Initial phases will focus on rural locations around Yeovil, areas already agreed with Retrofit Somerset.
Thermly’s programme will help homeowners install heat pumps quickly and easily, enabling an energy efficient, low carbon way to heat their homes and futureproofing them for years to come. Every eligible home is able to access £7,500 in government funding towards the cost of installation, and all the installations will be undertaken by Somerset-based companies. In addition, Thermly is providing an additional £1000 of funding for each of the first 20 households installing a heat pump in Somerset through the Thermly platform.
Thermly is looking for interested homeowners in Somerset to get involved. Homeowners who live within the areas identified (see “Notes to Editors”) for phase one of the project should visit Thermly to find out more: www.thermly.co.uk/community/somerset.
For further information or to request an interview, please contact Gareth Robertson or Philip Jackson at somerset@thermly.co.uk.
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Thermly Hub uses a range of different publicly accessible data sets – such as EPC data and the National Energy Efficiency Database, alongside proprietary analysis to understand the current state and performance of the UK’s domestic housing stock.
The initial phases will run for approximately 18 months after which coverage will roll out across the whole Somerset Council area.
Founded in 2023, Thermly is a green tech company on a mission to change the way we heat buildings. Thermly helps householders make informed decisions so that they can move toward more sustainable energy choices.
With a team with over 20 years’ worth of experience in the energy and finance sectors, and in retrofitting buildings, Thermly simplifies decision-making, speeds up the whole process, matching property owners with trusted and certified installers in the local area.
For further information see www.thermly.co.uk.
Retrofit Somerset is a partnership project funded by MCS Foundation to support the acceleration of retrofit across Somerset. The partnership is made up of Somerset Climate Action Network, Somerset Council, Somerset Independence Plus, Bruton, Frome and Glastonbury Town Councils, Lendology, Centre for Sustainable Energy, Burham and Weston Community Energy. Part of this project is to trial solutions that will help inform homeowners on what retrofit solution they will benefit from to reduce bills, improve health and wellbeing and reduce carbon emissions.
For further information see www.retrofitsomerset.info .