Hewer, a family-run heating, mechanical, electrical, and renewable energy business, has launched Heat Saviour, a technology that aims to simplify heat pump installations and maintenance.
As part of its Net Zero plan, the Government aims to install 600,000 heat pumps annually by 2028, with gas boilers banned in new homes from 2027. Yet, according to the Heat Pump Association, heat pump sales fell short last year, barely hitting 100,000. In response, the Government has pledged to double the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to £295 million and launched a public awareness campaign to spotlight the £7,500 heat pump grant.
Stuart Hesk, Director at Hewer, says, “Installing and retrofitting heat pumps can be complex, costly, and disruptive. They are often designed with non-universal parts, requiring entire heating systems to be ripped out – systems that could have years of use left in them.
“Heat Saviour is a much smarter and cheaper way for engineers to install and maintain a heat pump, making property management easier and improving residential satisfaction. We saw the huge amounts of unnecessary waste, cost, and downtime that installing and retrofitting heat pumps was causing, and so, as a customer-first business, we set about inventing a solution to tackle these issues.”
Heat Saviour is a pre-assembled unit which sits underneath a standard hot water cylinder, transferring the heat fed from the heat pump through a plate exchanger, which indirectly powers the central heating system. Unlike traditional heat pump systems which, due to their singular loop design, tie households into specific manufacturers’ components, Heat Saviour enables the use of off-the-shelf components. Operating on a dual-circuit loop, the heat pump runs independently of the existing central heating, aiming to eliminate the need for system overhauls. This intends to minimise disruption and downtime, cut labour costs by up to 20%, and deliver homeowners savings of up to £2,000 per installation.
With glycol only in the heat pump circuit, it cuts glycol use by 80%. The unit also has a built-in backup heating element, which can either be switched on manually or controlled remotely using a Vericon Systems connected solution. This avoids downtime during maintenance or pump failure and reduces how often engineers need to enter the property.
Stuart continues, “There [have] been no post-installation call-backs on the social housing installations since we implemented Heat Saviour. One of the reasons for this is due to the central heating circuit being separate from the heat pump. This helps to prevent sludge from older systems – often still present even after cleaning – from reaching the heat pump filters, which can reduce performance and affect reliability.
“Our mission was to design a cost-effective, durable, and sustainable solution with lower upfront costs and simple servicing, which makes the Government heat pump grant go further. A design which simplifies installations from new builds to even older properties which aren’t conducive to heat pump systems, meeting the needs of all homeowners, landlords, and tenants, including social housing providers.
“A compact unit which fits into a standard 600mm by 600mm cupboard, Heat Saviour works with all major heat pump brands and comes with a lifetime guarantee on its parts. It ensures that the heat pump runs more efficiently, cutting energy waste and enhancing the system’s overall effectiveness. The shelf-life of the heat pump also improves as there’s no relying on manufacturers’ own parts, which can go out of production, while less glycol in the system dramatically reduces the system’s impact on the environment.”
Daniel McNally, Director of heat pump installation firm EcoHeat Plumbing, Heating and Renewables, comments, “Heat Saviour has now become a standard part of our toolkit for every suitable heat pump installation. It delivers on every front, lower installation costs, simpler maintenance, and enhanced homeowner satisfaction. For us, it’s more than a product, it enables better service and advances system design.”
Stuart adds, “If the Government succeeds in its goal of installing heat pumps in 600,000 UK homes a year, and each property is fitted with a Heat Saviour, that’s an annual saving of £1.2 billion for the economy. Our unit empowers more communities to adopt greener heating methods and, most importantly, offers peace of mind – delivering reliability without the fear of premature failure.”