With plans to expand the business Ayr-based Stewart Temperature Solutions is offering the provision of air source heat pumps (ASHPs) to domestic premises.
Following on from the COP26 climate change conference which was held in Glasgow last year, Stewart Temperature Solutions has already trialled successful installations locally and is now in the process of launching a programme to gradually roll out supply and installation nationally.
Establishing the business in 2008 Director Gregor Stewart now employs nine people and expects to take on at least one additional team of specialist fitters to be able to meet expected demand and is also considering employing apprentices to develop future skills within the company.
Gregor Stewart whose father also ran a refrigeration business in Ayrshire said: “There is really no question that ASHPs are the future and by installing them now we are protecting against the price of gas, which is expected to soar as international tensions and supply issues are exacerbated.
As well as saving on energy bills, in the long term, ASHPs are a giant first step towards comprehenseively reducing our carbon footprint which, as COP26 so vividly illustrated, has to be addressed as a matter or urgency.
As long as they are proportionate to the size of the house, the pumps can be used for heating and cooling as well as space heating and hot water, and they also have a high seasonal co-efficient of performance (SCoP). They are also eligible for Renewable Heat Incentive Payments.
Stewart is introducing an ASHP system into his own home and removing his gas boiler.
ASHPs work when outside air passes over tubes filled with liquid refrigerant, which warms up and turns into gas. This gas is compressed, which adds more heat and passes into a heat exchanger surrounded by cool air or water, which it warms. This is then circulated around the home.
The installation requires a unit outside the house which encompasses the heat exchanger, and a large water tank inside the house. Some homes may need larger radiators.
Stewart Temperature Solutions said that its ASHP programme has been given added urgency by the UK government decision to ban gas boiler installation in new homes from 2025 – which is only three years away – and to ban the sale of new boilers completely by 2035.
As well as being good for the environment, this diversification will make the business less seasonal, and reduce our reliance on air-conditioning work in the hot summer months.
It is about essentially future-proofing not only our business but also making valuable changes in our wider society. These changes are coming and it will be to everyone’s benefit to embrace them.
Stewart Temperature Solutions is predicting a turnover of in the region of £1 million by the end of the year.