Edinburgh College replaced its gas heating system with a 640 kW air source heat pump, delivered through the UK government’s Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency Framework (NDEE). Upgrades to the secondary heat system and controls are expected to reduce campus carbon emissions by over 100 tonnes annually. The project was completed in partnership with Vital Energi, with funding from the Scottish government’s Energy Efficiency Grant Scheme for 2024/2025.

The College also operates three other facilities around the city and was founded in 2012 as part of the merger of Edinburgh’s Jewel and Esk, Telford and Stevenson colleges.

Vital Energi’s Regional Manager, Kieran Walsh, commented: ‘Normally, organisations decarbonise in phases, with several smaller projects, but Edinburgh College has been able to electrify their heating system in one single phase.’  

In addition to eliminating reliance on gas in a single phase, the project serves as an educational resource for the College’s Engineering, Renewables and Energy Efficiency Training Centre, where students can study the new low-carbon system.

Building on Edinburgh College’s example at the campus level, a parallel ambition for large-scale electrification is now being applied to the residential sector in Wales. GTC has secured a contract with Barratt Redrow to deliver energy systems for the Cosmeston Farm development in Penarth. The project, comprising 576 homes, is said to be the UK’s largest net zero carbon housing development and a major residential sustainability project in Europe.  

The site will use a smart home energy system that reportedly integrates networked ground-source heat pumps, solar photovoltaics and battery storage. GTC states that this whole-system approach enables lower energy bills through smart optimisation and grid flexibility earnings. Cardiff University will independently verify the site’s real-world performance.

John Marsh, Chief Innovation Officer at GTC, says the development showcases the ‘power of bringing together proven technologies and investment to create affordable, zero-carbon, smart homes’.

Oliver Novakovic, Technical and Innovation Director at Barratt Redrow, said: ‘Cosmeston represents a transformational step in how we design and build the next generation of zero-carbon communities. This project shows what is possible when industry partners collaborate to deliver homes that are not only beautifully designed, but future ready.’  

Finally, a new white paper from trade association BSRIA recommends making building performance testing a core requirement for all domestic retrofit projects to ensure intended carbon and energy savings. The report, Retrofit testing for warm homes, notes that reliance on assumptions and visual inspections often results in non-compliance and costly remediation. It cites failures in previous large-scale schemes, with tens of thousands of installations requiring remediation at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds. BSRIA states that before-and-after testing is essential to restoring trust and ensuring quality in the UK’s £15bn Warm Homes Plan.

The report identifies five key actions:  

• Introduce before-and-after testing requirements, particularly for government-funded and social housing retrofit projects, to ensure transparency, compliance and public confidence.  
• Reinforce ventilation testing, including more explicit requirements for registered building inspectors to ensure tests have been completed by a competent person.  
• Upskill retrofit assessors, coordinators, designers and installers in testing methodologies to improve understanding and adoption.  
• Raise tester competence, supported by appropriate training, accreditation and equipment calibration.  
• Mandate data for performance, enabling continuous improvement and helping close the performance gap.  

The report concludes that targeted testing is a cost-effective way to protect public investment and ensure healthy, efficient homes.