Octopus Energy and National Grid have partnered to speed up the installation of heat pumps, electric vehicle (EV) chargers and solar panels.

The new agreement means that Octopus Energy engineers can upgrade a customer’s fuse themselves during a domestic low-carbon technology installation.

This change will allow residents to potentially avoid an additional 10 weeks of installation processes that would otherwise be necessary.

National Grid has already assessed the impact of future heat pump installations on the local electricity grid to ensure it can accommodate the extra power needed and has pre-approved them for connections across its entire network.

Alex Schoch, head of flexibility at Octopus Energy, said: “Octopus has proven that by working together, DNOs and installers can bring heat pumps, EVs and solar into homes faster and cheaper, turbocharging the UK’s move to an electrified future.

“By upgrading fuses alongside clean tech installations, we are not only saving NGED resources but also giving our customers back valuable time.”

Continuous growth

This partnership has come at an advantageous time for the industry, with interest in domestic low-carbon technologies steadily growing.

In fact, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) released data in December confirming that 2023 was the UK’s “best ever” year for renewable energy and heating installations.

There were 220,500 MCS-certified installations across the UK by the end of 2023, surpassing 2022’s figures as early in the year as September.

Also, Octopus Energy has been consistently growing its share in the domestic renewable technology sector, as is evident from the firm’s £200 million investment into green heat start-up Deep Green in January 2024.

This followed the tech start-up’s celebration of the successful installation of its ‘digital boiler’ at Exmouth Leisure Centre in Devon, which helped the leisure centre cut its heating bill by over 60%, according to the company.

Most recently, Octopus Energy partnered with UK black cab app Gett to provide EV charging to 4,000 electric taxis.

As part of this deal, the energy supplier has offered to install chargers at cab drivers’ homes, and the customers can get an extra 8% off all their public charging costs on Electroverse.

In addition, the deal includes charging discounts and credits, as well as reduced prices on home charging equipment for cab drivers on the Gett platform.

Tags:#decarbonisation, domestic, Energy Usage, ev charging, heat pump, Renewables, Technolog