21 Oct 2021
With the new Heat and Buildings Strategy encouraging the use of heat pumps - now is a good time to revisit the IOR paper "Why don't people install heat pumps?" available free here to download.
This paper considers why the annual UK installation rate of heat pumps is relatively low in comparison to other countries and questions the source of 'green' electricity required for a large heat pump fleet.
It covers electrically driven vapour compression air source heat pumps (ASHPs) for domestic and light commercial building sectors, providing on-gas grid and off-gas grid locations are considered, for:
This paper focuses on ASHPs, and doesn't include direct heat pump systems, because the number of heat pumps required to replace natural gas boilers and satisfy UK carbon reduction targets is not possible with ground source technology.
2 Mar 2026
The IOR has announced a major step forward in the development of its new Industry Skills Alliance, confirming that the Alliance’s inaugural meeting will take place on 28 April 2026 at Bitzer UK in Milton Keynes and that Andrew Bowden FInstR and Mark Harris MInstR have been appointed as Co-Chairs.
3 Mar 2026
The Engineering and Building Services Skills Alliance (EBSSA) published recently their strategic Sector Skills Plan, as part of the work undertaken by the Construction Mission Skills Board.
2 Mar 2026
The paper for the IOR TechTalk on “Unscrambling the Refrigerant Clutter for the Future” on 5th March is now available. This is a great chance to hear the authors explore the topic in depth and put your questions to them.
26 Feb 2026
We're delighted to announce that the IOR Technician App has been shortlisted as a finalist for the ACR News Awards in the Training Initiative of the Year Category.
24 Feb 2026
A review of the IOR Constitution has been carried out to ensure it complies with current Charity Commission guidance and improve the wording for clarity. Open for consultation and comment by members until 30th April 2026.