At Nesta, our innovation work is underpinned by research. As well as bringing innovation to our mission areas, we also bring it to our methods. We've been experimenting with AI in qual analysis. Our conclusion so far, occasionally useful but mainly very faillible. www.nesta.org.uk/blog/six-rea...

For heating engineers wanting independent advice on how to take the first step into heat pumps, we worked with the excellent Barry Sharp to make this video. youtu.be/LXDjcM70py0

MCS umbrella schemes play a key role in the UK’s heat pump market. But how do installers know they’re with the right one: one that costs the least and provides the best service to them and their customers? What if there was a comparison tool for umbrella schemes? www.nesta.org.uk/project-upda...

‘I wouldn’t have given you a fiver for a heat pump before trying this, but now I think they really work.’ That's why Nesta's helping heating engineers get heat pumps to install at home. Start at Home discussed alongside other decarb innovations in the FT today www.ft.com/content/b4cd...

The UK government has announced £9,000 subsidies for households with oil and LPG boilers to get a heat pump. This is seriously good deal for rural homes - not only does it lower the upfront cost, a mid-sized home could save over £650 a year by switching from oil to a heat pump at current prices...

Rachel Reeves managed to wipe several million off SSE's share price on Thursday with a loose promise to decouple electricity and gas prices. Why? And what might she announce this week? 🧵1/6 electionenergy.substack.com/p/ee-22-cons...

The journey from gas or oil heating engineer to heat pumps isn't is clear as it could be. We've written an explainer with the key steps www.nesta.org.uk/toolkit/what...

For newly trained heat pump engineers, installing a heat pump at home builds confidence, boosts skills, and encourages plumbers to offer heat pumps to customers. Our interim report is out already and we’ll launch our final report at Installer Show on 24 June. www.nesta.org.uk/report/start...

We’ve been giving newly trained heat pump installers a heat pump to install in their own home! We though it’d help heating engineers newly trained in heat pumps enter the industry faster, grow their confidence and do better installs. It seems to be working! www.nesta.org.uk/report/start...

Could generative AI help heat pump installers do their jobs more effectively? Led by @helloaidank.bsky.social, we've trained a chatbot on a lot of heat pump manuals and technical information, and have been testing how useful it is. You can have a go here: www.nesta.org.uk/project-upda...