Following hundreds of entries, a judging day where a panel of industry experts shortlisted the entries, a peer-reviewed technical challenge and a record number of public votes, the winners of the Heating Installer Awards 2022 have been announced.

John Cruickshank, of Cruickshank Plumbing and Heating, fought off strong competition to be crowned as the national Heating Installer 2022. John impressed the judges and the public with his high level of technicality, outstanding professionalism and commitment to the industry and his customers.

John said: “I am delighted to have been recognised as the best Heating Installer 2022. It is such an honour, I have seen so many incredible winners come before me and it is a real honour for me to now be standing amongst them. This is the first time I have entered the competition and it has been an incredibly enjoyable and rewarding experience, not to mention the benefits it has had for my business.”

Damon Blakemore of Blakemore Plumbing Heating Renewables, from Sheffield, saw off stiff competition from installers across the UK to claim the coveted runner-up spot in the prestigious awards scheme which recognises the nation’s best heating installers.

Josh Bentley from Bradford scooped the Rising Star award which recognises the industry’s budding apprentices.  Josh impressed the judges with his level of commitment and desire to achieve high standards.

Last but by no means least, the Most Sustainable Installer Award, which recognises those who are doing everything they can to minimise the impact of their work on the environment, went to Alan Dean Macron from Green and Reliable Heating in Harrogate. Alan impressed the judges with his commitment to providing sustainable products, processes and solutions to his customers.

Now in its seventh year, the Heating Installer Awards celebrates the achievements and the credibility of plumbers and heating installers who deliver an excellent quality of work and customer service on a daily basis and showcases the superstars of the industry who have gone unnoticed, until today.

Now that John has won the title he can enjoy industry-wide recognition and prizes provided by awards partners which include a trip to Denmark to Danfoss’ headquarters in Denmark, as well as a variety of other prizes from sponsor’s Armacell, Big Wipes, CIPHE, LG, Polypipe and Stelrad.

The judges commented that the quality of this year’s entries from across the UK was exceptional and included an increasingly outstanding quality of projects.

The eight-month long Heating Installer Awards programme is packed with various events along the way, from social media competitions and activities with sponsors, to judging day and the awards ceremony in June.

As a new activity in the Heating Installer Awards’ schedule for 2022, we’ve introduced a regional winner’s event (which we’ve managed to squeeze in between announcing the winners, and the ceremony itself!).

The event came about as we work to make sure the awards are staying relevant by working as hard as possible for all those involved, from the installers themselves to the sponsors and our partners.

Hosted by Danfoss, we all spent the day event gaining product updates from our sponsors and partners. Our winning installers also picked up their regional winner’s prizes – definitely worth coming for!

The winning installers then ventured back to their hotel before heading out for a curry to celebrate their enormous achievement! It was a chance for everyone to let their hair down, relax and take stock of the fact they are officially the best-of-the-best. And although all are serious professionals, we’ve been hearing rumours of a spontaneous karaoke session in downtown Uxbridge but are waiting for verification on this before we can report more…

Events like this are only possible when everyone is able to take time out of their ‘day’ jobs, so we want to say a HUGE thank you to all our winning installers for taking the time to travel down, and also to all our sponsors for supporting the day and evening events to make it what it was!

We’ll see you at the NEC in June!

This week, we announced our 2022 regional winners as well as the finalists for its Rising Star and Most Sustainable Installer categories.

The shortlists have been decided by a panel of experts including representatives from the awards’ partners Armacell, CIPHE, Danfoss, LG, Stelrad, Polypipe Building Products and Installer, who recently scored all of the entries on problem solving, product knowledge and stand-out work. The panel was also joined by the 2021 Heating Installer Awards winner, Grant Gundelfinger, from Mayfly Group.

Now in its seventh year, our awards recognise the achievements and raises the credibility of plumbers and heating installers across the country who deliver excellent work on a daily basis.

Targeting every region across the UK, the awards encourage plumbers and installers to nominate a project they’re particularly proud of, which demonstrates high technicality, outstanding professionalism, and exceptional service – all resulting in a happy customer.

The judges said that this year the entries received were of a higher standard than ever before, with an increasingly outstanding quality of projects submitted, so selecting the best was no easy feat.

The regional winners are:

• East Midlands: Glen Wakeling
• East Midlands Highly Commended: Chris Surridge
• East of England: Michael Abbott
• North East: Craig Gilhome
• North East Highly Commended: Robert Westall
• North West: Paul Clark
• North West Highly Commended: Liam Brady
• Scotland: Ian Williamson
• South East: John Cruickshank
• South East Highly Commended: Josh Tappin
• South West: Craig Brookes
• Wales & NI: Huw Jenkins
• West Midlands: James Bowen
• Yorkshire & the Humber: Damon Blakemore

Rising Star shortlist:

1. Craig Forrest
2. Nathan Ayre
3. Soph Maguire
4. James Bolton
5. Josh Bentley

Most Sustainable Installer shortlist:

1. Lee Guest
2. Gregg Cameron
3. Liam Barry
4. Alan Dean Marcon

The regional winners and category finalists will now go through to the next stage of the awards which involves a technical challenge and a public vote, with some money-can’t-buy prizes up for grabs for the winners.

To get behind an installer and vote for them to be crowned the national winner, the Rising Star or the Most Sustainable Installer, you can place your vote here.

The public vote will make up a third of the overall scores, alongside the judges’ scores and the scores from a technical challenge.

The worthy winners will be revealed at Installer Show on 22^nd June – see you there!

Our sponsor, LG Electronics – a major supplier of air to water heat pumps – has launched a campaign in the UK targeting consumers, to raise awareness of heat pump technology and the role of heat pumps in sustainability as we head towards 2050 and carbon neutrality.

As part of the campaign LG has released a touching video bound for social media sites showing an elderly woman waiting patiently for the arrival of her grandson who is coming to stay. In a series of touching vignettes, you watch as she cares for him as he grows from a boy to a man, creating the foundation for him to one day create a warm loving home of his own for his own family. The grandson then lives in and renovates his grandmother’s home with increased insulation and the LG Therma V heat pump providing a warm, sustainable future.

As installers will know, LG’s Therma V air to water heat pump is more sustainable than conventional heat pumps. Air to water heat pump systems use advanced technology and simple physics to move outdoor air indoors and vice versa, all while using less electricity and resulting in far greater efficiency. LG’s AWHP solution offers reliable space heating and hot water supply all year-round without the use of fossil fuels. Better for the home and the planet, Therma V minimises electricity consumption by an incredible 75 per cent by using air drawn from outside the home as a heat source.

At up to four times more energy efficient than a traditional boiler, LG Therma V is a cost-effective heating and hot water solution for any home. #CareForWhereYouLive is the latest in an on-going series of LG initiatives presenting simple ways that everyone can help do their part to ensure a better tomorrow.

“Here in the UK, heat pumps are getting that impetus behind them that will see them accepted in the next few years as a mainstream method of providing heat and hot water in our homes,” says LG’s Peter Spurway. “It’s a vital time to get the heat pump message across to the UK population and to educate the general public and the installer network about the substantial benefits that switching to a proven, renewable option offers. For installers, its all about delivering the installation training that is vital to ensure that installed heat pumps deliver the maximum benefits to their owners.”

To see the video and learn more about the campaign, head for https://www.lg.com/uk/heating-awhp.

Danfoss has announced a 2022 UK ‘Installer Life’ tour. The team is hitting the road to meet heating professionals at participating wholesalers up and down Britain, bringing exciting new products and know-how direct to installers in an eye-catching tour bus that’s kitted out with bar-raising tools of the trade – and caffeine, of course!

Once on board this tour bus installers can chat to the Danfoss team and get hands on with the latest heating controls and tech, like the ‘new fit and forget’ RAS-B2 TRV, designed by Danfoss to make system balancing both quick and easy. There will also be plenty of opportunities to take part in training sessions and have fun while learning new tips and tricks.

Gareth Ash, Marketing Communications Manager at Danfoss, says the Tour is a chance to meet the installer community face-to-face and celebrate their craftsmanship. He comments: “We thought it was time to go out and share our passion for the craft of heating with installers and recognise the pride they take in their daily work. We know their job isn’t simply about fixing problems, it’s also about creating what we like to call ‘pipe perfect’ solutions that deliver affordable warmth and comfort for their customers with the help of innovative solutions from Danfoss.”

Danfoss says installers can look forward to a series of seasonally themed events during the Tour, as well as brand new products launches. The tour is kicking off with a ‘Plumbing with Pride’ theme, tackling subjects like hydronic balancing and the new
Part L.

Throughout 2022, Danfoss will be maintaining the buzz around the Tour and engaging with installers across social media with spot the van competitions, virtual tours and livestreams direct from the vehicle. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Tour without a cool new range of Danfoss merch.

In order to support its Tour partners, Danfoss is providing all participating wholesalers with a communications package that’s ready made for them to promote Installer Life On Tour on their website and social media channels.

Summing up, Gareth Ash says the Danfoss Installer Life on Tour is racked and ready to roll into wholesalers right across England, Wales and Scotland. He concludes:  “This will be a great way for us to interact with installers on their home turf and bring the latest heating tools and tech where and when they need it the most.”

To find out more about the Danfoss Installer Life on Tour, and get a list of tour dates and locations, go to https://installer.danfoss.co.uk/ and sign up to the Newsletter.

LG has launched the latest version of its sector leading Therma V Monobloc air to water heat pump – the Therma V R32 Monobloc ‘S’ – into a UK marketplace that is highly responsive to new heat pump technology. The ‘S’ stands for ‘Silence’ and ‘Supreme’ to highlight its reduced noise level and best performance criteria.

The announcement recently from Government that it will provide a £5,000 grant from April 2022 to individuals choosing to install a heat pump over existing fossil fuel driven heating systems is the next crucial step towards major uptake of proven heat pump technology in preference to reliance on gas, oil and solid fuel options for domestic heating and hot water provision in the UK. The Future Homes Standard requires serious action and quickly if targets are to be met. Renewables and higher standards of building quality in, for example, recognition of better standards of insulation in UK homes are key to meeting the aims of the FHS. Heat pumps have a major part to play.

The original LG Therma V Monobloc has already seen enormous success in the UK marketplace as heat pump sales in 2021 trebled over sales in the previous year. But this new ‘S’ version is set to make unparalleled sales figures in 2022 as more and more housebuilders and developers, local authorities and social housing providers move to use renewable options in their new build homes and begin the process of replacing older and inefficient gas boilers with an option that future proofs their existing homes in the years ahead.

As with the original Monobloc, this new model combines the indoor and outdoor features in one module. It’s also connected by only water piping, eliminating the need for refrigerant piping, making this heat pump an installer’s dream when it comes to ease of installation.

Hydronic components like the improved plate heat exchanger, the expansion tank, water pump, flow sensor, pressure sensor, air vent valve and safety valve are all built in – inside the outdoor unit – pre-installed and ready to run. And the R32 Monobloc ‘S’ provides excellent heating performance especially at low ambient temperatures whilst lowering its carbon emissions even more with the use of R32.

The innovative design and technology in this new unit sees built in water flow and pressure sensors to monitor the water circuit in real time, advanced water pump control, enhanced second circuit logic, energy monitoring of estimated power consumption via the remote controller, MODBUS connectivity without Gateway if required and advanced control for the domestic hot water recirculation pump.

LG equipment is justly renowned in the industry for its controllers and the new Monobloc ‘S’ is equipped with a new advanced remote controller which supports a number of functions. It comes with a premium design 4.3-inch colour LCD monitor, user friendly interface that uses simple graphic, icon and text controls, easy schedule and installer settings and energy monitoring without meter interface to provide estimated power consumption figures. It is possible to monitor not only the temperature of the water circuit but also the flow rate and the pressure. This information provides installers with more reliable information for installation and maintenance.

The original version was extremely quiet, but this new ‘S’ version is even quieter and up to 9kW units can be installed at the minimum of 4 metres away, and up to 16kW units – up to 5 metres away from neighbouring houses complying with international noise regulations. And through the use of LG’s ThinQ technology can monitor and control compatible LG products remotely so owners can set the temperature and regulate the use of their Therma V anytime, anywhere. ThinQ technology also works with voice activation with Google Homes.

Installers will love the new Monobloc ‘S’ – the all-in-one concept and reduced weight of the unit makes for easier and quicker installations. The new version requires lower amounts of refrigerant compared to the existing model – 16.7% less in fact – reducing emissions and lessening its environmental impact still further.  The new version features LG’s revolutionary R1 Compressor technology which offers advanced efficiency, reliability and operational range due in part to the enhanced tilting motion of the scroll. It offers enhanced operational range – up to 135Hz, a shaft-through structure and support at both ends of the shaft which ensures higher durability and offers bottom compression and simple structure that offers lower noise and vibration, less weight and superior reliability.

Within the outdoor unit the new version of the LG Monobloc offers a new compressor noise shield, a new Black Fin coated heat exchanger, a new water flow sensor and a new water pressure sensor. There is an option to include a 3kW or 6kW electric back up heater.

The unit comes with a Seasonal Coefficient of Performance of up to 4.67 (Average climate/Low temperature application) and a A+++ rating. The COP rises to 4.9 (Outdoor air 7°C/Leaving water temperature 35°C) and can deliver leaving water temperature of 65°C if required.

Peter Spurway is LG’s National Sales Manager – Heating Projects: “These are exciting times for heat pumps and for LG as we see hugely increased interest and sales of our established Therma V units. This launch of the new Monobloc ‘S’ gives us another massive lift as we can offer the leading monobloc unit on the market. We’re already seeing major interest in the new unit from housebuilders, social housing providers and self-builders – keen to find the best option for renewable heating projects up and down the country. They are seeing the latest advances incorporated into the new unit and with the restriction on the use of fossil fuelled heating in new build properties from 2025 are keen to begin working with the products that they will be using from that time onwards immediately.

“LG Business Solutions UK is a special business unit of LG Electronics and our new build projects team are dedicated to bringing LG’s world-class IOT-enabled smart home innovations to the UK construction industry. The Monobloc S compliments our Split, Hydro Split and High Temp Split units to provide low carbon heating solutions for almost any house type.”

For more information on the new LG Therma V Monobloc ‘S’ head for partner.lge.com/uk, or email LG at [email protected]. 

The latest addition to the Stelrad Radiator Group portfolio is the new Cast Iron Column range. Traditionally Stelrad has supplied steel radiators and continues to do so with more than two and a half million radiators manufactured each year. But in the past few years, cast iron column radiators – which were first around in Victorian times – have come into vogue again and as always, the company aims to meet the demands of its customers at every level, so it has added a selection of Cast Iron Column radiators to its ever-widening range.

The new Stelrad Radiator Group Cast Iron Column radiator is available now and adds undoubted charisma to any modern or period home with its distinctive, ageless look and its Natural Cast finish.  With the added options of either Antique Brass or Brushed Nickel TRVs to provide the ultimate in modern heating control. The classic, clean lines suggest a genuine piece from yesteryear whilst offering the very best in quality and craftsmanship to enhance the very latest in heating technology as it slips effortlessly into the superior elegance of today’s most fashionable of décor.

These radiators are floor standing with in-built feet for extra stability as they are significantly heavier than their steel counterparts. They are available in two heights and a wide variety of widths – a total of twenty sizes available. And as you would expect, they come with a cast iron ten-year warranty.

“We’re pleased to be able to respond to customer demand and provide this excellent new range of cast iron radiators,” says Stelrad’s Head of Marketing, Chris Harvey. “The arrival of this new range confirms our position as a one stop shop for all things radiators and we’re delighted with the early response to the new range we’ve received from installers and merchants up and down the UK.”

To find out more about Stelrad’s new Cast Iron Column radiators go to www.stelrad.com. For more information call 0800 876 6813 or email [email protected]. Alternatively, you can also see regular updates from Stelrad on Twitter @Stelrad and Facebook @StelradRadiators.

Stelrad Radiators popular CIBSE and RIBA accredited CPD programmes are still available for face-to-face presentations, but they are now also available conveniently online.

The Covid pandemic has seen a switch to working from home for many traditional consumers for CPDs and want flexibility to complete their learning at their own convenience at a time to suit them.

You can simply go to the Stelrad website at www.stelrad.com/cpd-online-training/ open the programme at your convenience, digest the information and take the test at the end of the presentation and submit your answers. If you’ve passed, Stelrad send a certificate for you to add the CPD points to your running total for your professional body.

“We’re finding people enjoy boosting their CPD totals at times that suit them – evenings and weekends seem to be particularly popular – and we’re delighted to be able to provide these options via the website,” says Stelrad’s Head of Marketing, Chris Harvey.

There are three CPDs available – “A guide to heating your home with heat emitters on low temperature systems”, “The evolution of the central heating radiator with a focus on safety radiators” and “The difference in tubular radiators, specifications and dimensions which impact the heat available.” They all take around an hour and they are all free.

For more information or to book a CPD session at your place of work if you prefer that to working online, call 01709 578950 or email [email protected].