iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Oliver (Olly) Zanetti

Andrew Sissons @acjsissons.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

More reports that the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the heat pump subsidy, will be cut. This time top story on the Guardian website www.theguardian.com/environment/...

theguardian.com

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Great work by Max Woolard,senior analyst, and David Bleines,senior researcher, and in the Sustainable future mission team at @nestauk.bsky.social

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Sixth: it can be useful for some tasks, like summarising, but ONLY if you, the human, already know your data well

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Fifth: it's not the best at understanding phrases with cultural or linguistic nuance (like this one!)

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Fourth: there are no established protocols for quality assurance

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Third: it quickly produces a lot of outputs, which is time consuming for you as a human who will need to check them

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Second: it's not very good at linking its findings back to the original sources, and sometimes just makes up findings like interview quotes

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

First: AI's inbuilt sycophancy affects how it groups qual findings and creates themes. If you ask for themes it would prefer to give you false ones than tell you that no good themes exist.

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

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...

nesta.org.uk

Six reasons why human-led qualitative research is safe from AI… for now

While NotebookLM can support researchers with qualitative data analysis, the value of the tool lies in speed and exploratory sense-checking, not in producing rigorous findings from scratch

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

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

youtu.be

How heating engineers can train to install heat pumps | Nesta

YouTube video by Nesta

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

What do you think? Would an umbrella scheme comparison tool be useful to you? What would it need to do? When would you use it?

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

The answer, building a tool is harder than we thought! - an umbrella scheme means different things to different people - heat pump engineers have very different needs - info where installers get trusted industry knowledge from is hard to find

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

We did a rapid testing and prototyping sprint to explore the idea, led by one of our designers Eve Lerouge. The team interviewed installers, spoke to industry folk, and spent a day at a heat pump merchant. Then they built and tested concepts.

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

For installers new to heat pumps, the range of umbrella schemes is opaque. And for those in the sector for a while, it's hard to compare offers that could help reduce costs, increase profits, and provide a better service to their customers. A comparison tool might help.

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

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...

nesta.org.uk

Can we help heat pump installers compare umbrella schemes?

We wanted to speed test whether giving heating engineers better visibility of umbrella scheme would increase their likelihood of transitioning to heat pumps

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Thanks for sharing this. In England and Wales existing heating engineers can get financial support for heat pump training via the Heat Training Grant. Then, to put that learning into practice for the 1st time in a low pressure environment, they can install a heat pump at home! www.startathome.org.uk

startathome.org.uk

Start at Home

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

‘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...

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Reposted by Oliver (Olly) Zanetti

Andrew Sissons @acjsissons.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

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...

Chart shows annual heating bills for medium-sized home with an oil boiler (£1,476), an LPG boiler (£1,473) and a heat pump (£784), all at current energy prices. The heat pump is considerably cheaper to run, saving over £650

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Reposted by Oliver (Olly) Zanetti

Sam Alvis @samalvis.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

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...

electionenergy.substack.com

EE 2.2 Consious Uncoupling

Breaking the link between gas and electricity is easier than you think

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

But, the HPA reckon only 39% of those will go on to install a heat pump immediately. DESNZ thinks only 27%. We want to push those numbers up. By starting at home, newly trained engineers get a first install done, giving themselves confidence in their new skills, and giving customers confidence too!

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Recent figures from the HPA who why this is needed. We need the UK's plumbers and heating engineers to get skilled up for heat pumps. They're rising to the challenge! According to the HPA 9,062 of them got a heat pump qualification last year! www.heatpumps.org.uk/wp-content/u...

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

We're so convinced by this approach, we want every plumbing and heating engineer in the UK to have the chance to install a heat pump in their own home for free! We’re working with industry to make that happen. More on this at Installer Show!

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

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...

nesta.org.uk

Start at home for newly trained heat pump installers

Helping heating professionals bridge the gap from heat pump training to real-world installation by starting in their own homes

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Thanks! Good point! I reckon that's true here too. We're trying to work out how it might work for renters but also looking at other initiatives that could build new installer skills and confidence. We're in the early stages of a project on peer mentoring for example www.nesta.org.uk/project/scop...

nesta.org.uk

Scoping installer peer mentoring networks to grow the heat pump sector

Helping newly trained installers to become active, confident and competent members of the heat pump sector

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

What’s next? There’s loads of enthusiasm from the sector and we think there’s an opportunity here for government and industry to work together to get this opportunity out to more new installers. We’re working with partners on making that happen. If we should be talking to you too, get in touch!

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Working with the sector is at the heart of what we do, and we've really benefited from our collaboration with SNIPEF.

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

By installing a heat pump at home, engineers will get vital experience in the practicalities of installing a heat pump and in using one day to day. They’ll have more confidence doing their first job and building a pipeline of work. They’ll be able to advise customers based on first hand experience.

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

For the heat pump market to grow we need more skilled heating engineers familiar with heat pumps and confident in installing them. For many new installers training alone doesn’t go far enough. They leave with a grounding in the basics but don’t feel ready to pitch for or take on a heat pump job.

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Oliver (Olly) Zanetti @oliverzanetti.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

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...

nesta.org.uk

Start at home for newly trained heat pump installers

Helping heating professionals bridge the gap from heat pump training to real-world installation by starting in their own homes

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Reposted by Oliver (Olly) Zanetti

Andrew Sissons @acjsissons.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

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...

nesta.org.uk

How could generative AI change the heat pump skills sector?

Partnering with Renbee, we designed a chatbot to provide clear, practical advice for queries on heat pump installation

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