Why Start at Home?
Start at Home is an initiative that brings together companies that can help heating engineers upgrade their own homes with the latest heating technology. Installing a heat pump in your own home builds skills and confidence through hands-on experience, turning training into practice. By installing a heat pump with Start at Home, you’ll get ahead and be ready to offer heat pumps to your customers.
How it works
- 1 Sign up with a scheme provider
- 2 Get the heat pump kit you need, funded by a government grant (up to £7,500 of heat pump kit)
- 3 Get support with design and installation
- 4 Build knowledge and confidence with customers
Engineer experiences
“Installing one and looking at my own home and figuring out how that was going to work. It was really good practice on how you would do it for a customer”
— Ryan Beattie
“It was great because there’s no rush or time factor. With a customer that’s slightly different.”
— Billy Whitehead
“Now I have confidence that I’ve got one running in my own property, that I have 24/7 experience of. So when I am speaking to people, I can now speak from personal experience of using it myself.”
— Eric MacRae
What comes next?
Your Start at Home installation puts you and your business a step ahead of the game. Here are some ideas of what to do once you’ve finished your heat pump installation.
Get to know your heat pump
With a heat pump in your own home, you’ll learn how it works and how to get the best out of it. Maybe you’ll try a new energy tariff, adjust the flow temperature or change an extra radiator. Use your experience to advise your customers.
Introduce your heat pump to others
People in your neighbourhood are interested in heat pumps but want to speak to other heat pump owners before they take the plunge. List your home on Visit a Heat Pump, share your experience, and maybe get leads for new work.
Collaborate with others
Use your experience to keep working on heat pumps with others. You might work as a subcontractor with a more experienced heat pump installer in your area, or you might install heat pumps in new-build homes.
Work with an umbrella scheme
Some umbrella schemes will connect you with interested customers while others will help you through the paperwork for customers you find yourself. You might stick with your Start at Home scheme trusted partner, or look around for others more suited to your needs.
Get MCS certified
You could use your home heat pump to get MCS certified if the time is right for you. This will allow you to take charge of all aspects of heat pump system design and installation, and accessoffer government grants on behalf of to your customers without going through an umbrella scheme. Make sure you let your Start at Home scheme providertrusted partner know that you’d like to do this when you register with them.