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Madeleine Gabriel

@madgabes.bsky.social
2.9K followers 561 following 54 posts

Director of the Sustainable Future mission at Nesta - working on decarbonising UK homes, and interested in all things energy and climate related. Views my own

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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Wondering what today’s Budget means for energy bills and clean heating? @acjsissons.bsky.social and Dan Lewis at Nesta have done some fantastic analysis in record time 👇 www.nesta.org.uk/blog/what-do...
nesta.org.uk
What does the Budget mean for energy bills?
Major changes to energy bills in the Budget will affect households across the country
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
I hate the phrase ‘we apologise for any inconvenience’ It’s usually obvious inconvenience occurred - say, if your Vodafone internet went down for hours So why not just say ‘we apologise for THE inconvenience’? In the happy event a customer wasn’t in fact inconvenienced, then you look generous!
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
This is an interesting case study of a neighbourhood clean heat scheme in California - with some helpful pointers for future schemes (it didn’t go exactly to plan, but ultimately it did work)
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
😂😩😂
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
It really would be so helpful if the signs of overwatering your plants were not also the signs of underwatering your plants
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
With electricity pricing in the news again today, we’ve just published a paper setting out Nesta’s position on the best approach to reforming policy costs on bills www.nesta.org.uk/report/how-t...
nesta.org.uk
How to make electricity cheaper
Reforming the levies on energy bills
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Fuel poverty and decarbonisation goals can often seem in tension - what would need to change to align them? My colleague @martinakavan.bsky.social looks at the role cheaper electricity could play. We’re v keen to work further on this theme, and to hear thoughts www.nesta.org.uk/blog/we-need...
nesta.org.uk
We need cheaper electricity to unlock a more effective fuel poverty strategy
As fuel poverty rates remain stubbornly high, we call for a stronger role for low-carbon heat, cheaper electricity through levy reform and a move away from deep retrofits in hard-to-treat homes
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Nesta @nestauk.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Today, the 1 metre ruling requiring a minimum of 1 metre between a heat pump & property boundaries has been lifted for homes in England, meaning thousands of homeowners can make the first step to getting one. 🔖 Our new explainer outlines the planning process for getting a heat pump: bit.ly/4mAIDo0
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Katy King @katyking2.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
🔥 1,600 heat pump visits in one year 🔥 Over 900 hosts signed up 🔥 47 installers registered www.nesta.org.uk/blog/one-yea... @codrinacretu.bsky.social @alasdair.co @madgabes.bsky.social @kieranran.bsky.social @markobroin.bsky.social
nesta.org.uk
One year on, Visit a Heat Pump sees over 1,600 visitors
Our research has shown visits make a clear difference to people’s attitudes, knowledge and confidence on heat pumps
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Jess Ralston @jessralston.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
The @telegraphnews.bsky.social claims that the 'boiler tax' has returned. Has it? Was it even there in the first place? And what about claims that heat pump demand is "flatlining"? & did the boiler companies ensure that the boiler tax they collected was returned to 'ripped off' consumers?🧵
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
If only we already had an established way of funding public spending that sets thresholds by which higher earners pay more 🤷🏻‍♀️ www.theguardian.com/money/2025/a...
theguardian.com
Increased bills for higher earners could fund UK energy upgrade, Ofgem says
Regulator to consult industry on how to recover network costs via standing charge in a ‘more progressive’ way
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Last year we ran a big survey of UK heat pump installers with @betatalk.bsky.social and @imsheat.bsky.social We couldn’t put all the data in our main report, so the team is writing follow ups. Here’s a deep dive on what installers say about skills and training www.nesta.org.uk/project-upda...
nesta.org.uk
What skills and training are heat pump engineers looking for?
We found that beyond core technical skills, installers seek training in business management, administration, and system design to support their work
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Unfortunately here in the UK electricity is roughly four times the price of gas per kWh. It’s something those of us working on clean heating are pushing hard to change (one reason is because of government taxes on electricity). Her point is correct
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Full report here: www.nesta.org.uk/report/testi...
nesta.org.uk
Testing offers for a coordinated approach to low-carbon heating
Nesta partners with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) to test the effect a coordinated approach might have on low-carbon heating uptake
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
This gives us some food for thought. We’re keen to explore if /how neighbourhood schemes can help more people switch to clean heat The research suggests it’s not a slam dunk. Scheme need to be more financially attractive than alternatives. Reducing hassle alone probably isn’t a big enough pull
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Interestingly, people thought they were more likely than their neighbours to be interested in an area-based scheme
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
When we added in conditions that made costs more attractive, more people chose the coordinated switching option Giving the option to spread upfront costs over time (at 0% interest) created a statistically significant increase in the % of people choosing low-carbon
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
We didn’t find any evidence that neighbourhood schemes would shift behaviour simply on virtue of being coordinated Roughly the same proportion of people chose ‘low carbon’ in the control group (organise it yourself) and the basic coordinated switching group (be part of a scheme)
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
They were asked to make two choices - first, assuming the two systems cost the same, and second, assuming the low carbon system was more expensive (We know cost is a big driver, so we wanted to try and separate out cost from other potential influences)
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Participants were told they needed to change this boiler and offered a choice between a new boiler and a low carbon heating system. They were randomly assigned to see a ‘control’ offer (organise it yourself) or a ‘coordinated switching’ offer (be part of a scheme)
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Would people be more likely to switch to low carbon heating if they could do it as part of an area-based scheme? In principle, a coordinated scheme could reduce hassle, lower costs & boost confidence, compared to acting alone We commissioned BIT to do an online experiment to test these ideas…
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Thanks!
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Dammit, missed an opportunity to start this thread with ‘Since we’re all talking about tariffs’
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Snugg has done a nice guide to UK heat pump tariffs (last updated in January) www.snugg.com/blog/underst....
snugg.com
Understanding heat pump tariffs in the UK
A heat pump tariff charges you a special lower rate if you heat your home with an air or ground source heat pump. See if you could save.
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
EDF launched a new heat pump tariff today - no electricity standing charge and ‘six hours of discounted energy per day’. It’s tied to their HP offer with Ideal www.edfenergy.com/media-centre... All the biggest UK electricity suppliers (and some others) now offer some form of heat pump tariff
edfenergy.com
EDF boosts heat pump savings with zero standing charge tariff
EDF, in partnership with Ideal Heating, is helping more customers save cash and carbon every day, all year round, with a new zero standing charge heat pump tariff
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
It’s good to see insurers speaking up on impacts of climate change. Heavy rain & prolonged dry weather increase risk to properties from flooding & subsidence. 2024 saw a 2-decade high in UK property insurance claims. This could quickly become unsustainable www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer
Action urgently needed to save the conditions under which markets – and civilisation itself – can operate, says senior Allianz figure
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Have probably spent longer than I should trying to photograph the partial eclipse through holes in things
Holes in a colander with sunlight shining through, showing little ‘bites’ taken out of the images where the sun is partially eclipsedThe partial eclipse projected through pinholes in paper
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Could grants for low-carbon heating be brought together in new ways to help fund area-based schemes? @marine-furet.bsky.social sets out some ideas www.nesta.org.uk/blog/how-cou...
nesta.org.uk
How could subsidies incentivise clean heat neighbourhoods?
Restructuring public grants and subsidies can accelerate the heat transition, driving positive change
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
This is an incredible story Experienced pilot reports safety concerns Her employers have her diagnosed with bipolar & stop her flying She fights back and wins. Delta keep appealing - and losing She wins a final legal battle and eventually gets compensation Her (male) bosses are… promoted
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Love birds and renewables? Good news: a new study finds that when managed in a way that allows grass and hedges to grow, solar farms have more diversity and abundance of birds than arable land
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Leo Hickman @leohickman.carbonbrief.org · 20/02/2025
Jon Davis cartoon in the Guardian on "how the UK government is tackling the climate crisis" Or any government, for that matter... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
The Welsh Gov is consulting on planning rules - as my colleague @marine-furet.bsky.social sets out, it’s a good chance to make heat pumps easier to install by removing the ‘3m rule’ - and to avoid making it harder by increasing costs for HP planning applications www.nesta.org.uk/blog/the-wel...
nesta.org.uk
The Welsh Government must commit to planning reform so we can unleash clean heat
We’re proposing three simple planning policies that could support Wales’ clean heat future
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Oliver Lord @olord.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Cars are getting 1cm wider every two years. That may not sound much, but over time it adds up, and they're showing no signs of slowing down 😬 That's #carspreading. Our new campaign is calling on city leaders to make parking policies fairer by varying costs based on the size of a car. Why? 🧵1/8
A graphic showing how much wider cars are getting and especially in the SUV market
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Andrew Sissons @acjsissons.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
I generally like David Gauke's writing, but this is really poor on energy prices and net zero I'm afraid. Not going to rebut the whole thing, but a couple of quick points... www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
Businesses are increasingly vocal about the uncompetitiveness of energy prices. It has long been the case that Europe has higher energy prices than the US because the US has embraced fracking.  President Trump is going to inflict many wounds on the US economy, but his “drill, baby, drill” approach to energy policy will lower the cost for US businesses further.

Even in the European context, our energy costs are high. Industries such as steelmaking and chemicals are increasingly priced out of the UK for this reason. Nor is this just a problem for established industries. Artificial Intelligence requires data centres and data centres require a lot of energy. An ambition to lead the world in AI is incompatible with high energy prices.
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Aha, this has already been shared!
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
We’ve just published this trial report, in collaboration with Centre for Net Zero www.nesta.org.uk/report/heatf...
nesta.org.uk
HeatFlex: the untapped potential of automated heat pump flexibility
What if households could support a lower-carbon power grid by shifting the energy demand of their heat pump away from peak times?
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Martina Kavan @martinakavan.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
With all the talk about energy prices, I'm sure you're all asking yourselves how much households other than yours pay for energy. Surely not everyone spends £[insert price cap] a year. Ask no more. Here we explain and chart how things like heating tech, house size and lifestyles affect bills:
nesta.org.uk
How different households use energy and how much it costs them
How different households use energy and how much it costs them
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Isopod Fan Account @bedupolker.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Contrary to popular belief, there are only four kinds of bats.
Illustrated image divided into four panels, each showing a head of a bat with a text label. Top left: little guy, a regular looking back with a dark face and light colored fur, top right: little guy deluxe, a bat with a mask and large ears alongside a bat with a leaf shaped nose, bottom left: what is even going on here, a visored bat with a large forehead next to a bat with a large, wrinkly nose, bottom right: o hi doggie, a fruit bat with its tongue sticking out.
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Ofgem gas just confirmed the energy price cap for January - March 2025. But what’s in an energy bill anyway? My colleague @martinakavan.bsky.social has written a great explainer… www.nesta.org.uk/report/whats...
nesta.org.uk
What’s in an energy bill?
This explainer picks apart the gas and electricity bill of a typical household.
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Hannah Ritchie @hannahritchie.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
It's only right that my first post here is sharing Scotland's map of named ice gritters. You can follow where they all are in real-time. Some favourites this year: Sir David Attenbrrrrrr Stone Cold Steve Frostin Lord Coldemort You're a blizzard, Harry www.traffic.gov.scot/gritter-trac...
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
I’ve created a starter pack on heat pumps, including a mix of experts and advocates for a key technology in the climate fight. go.bsky.app/KCLxmj9
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Agh still getting used to Bluesky, thanks!
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
thanks @jeffcolley.bsky.social for putting this together!
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Thanks for this Chris! Can I nominate @chiefgeekad.bsky.social @mikesammon.bsky.social @imsheat.bsky.social @renewableheat.bsky.social @el-copo.bsky.social
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Has it been delayed further? I think it’s being implemented from April 2025, which is the earliest it could be in place at this point (would have been better to implement in 2024, but that ship sailed) I think the target is still 6% of boiler sales for 25/26?
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
It’s great to see gov announce a package of measures to support heat pump rollout today Removing ‘1m rule’ will mean fewer heat pumps need planning permission & make installations quicker & cheaper (NB contrary to some news reporting, noise rules remain in place!) www.gov.uk/government/n...
gov.uk
Help to save households money and deliver cleaner heat to homes
Up to 300,000 homes to benefit from upgrades next year, as government continues rollout of the Warm Homes Plan.
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Madeleine Gabriel @madgabes.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Yay! You’re both here
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Andrew Sissons @acjsissons.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Right - EPC reform! You know those energy performance certificates that you see on Rightmove? They’re terrible, everyone in the energy sector hates them. But actually reforming them is tricky. My colleague @tomleach.bsky.social tries to chart a way forward www.nesta.org.uk/blog/epcs-ne...
nesta.org.uk
EPCs need radical reform - here’s four ways how
The system has become too complicated. It's time to make EPCs useful.
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Nesta @nestauk.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Join us tomorrow to hear key findings on our research on heat pump flexibility and how it can support the national grid ⚡ Sign up to our lunchtime webinar ⬇️
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