14 January 2026
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Sureserve Compliance Central recently fitted its 1,000th Vaillant heat pump in a social housing property, setting an impressive installation milestone in a sector striving to transform to a more energy efficient and sustainable housing stock.
Jon Posey, Technical Director at Sureserve Compliance Central, says: “Many social‑housing providers are targeting EPC Band C by 2030, and have been using funding from the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (formerly SHDF) alongside other support under the wider Warm Homes Plan to help finance the energy‑efficiency upgrades needed to reach that goal.
“As old gas boilers come to the end of their working lives, heat pumps are a natural and proven alternative technology when upgrading the heating system in properties. They are suitable for a wide variety of settings and Sureserve Compliance Central has retrofitted within flats as well as larger 4-bedroom homes.”
A combination of Vaillant’s aroTHERM plus air source heat pump, along with sensoCOMFORT controls, sits at the heart of the installation success.
Delivering cheaper and low carbon heating and hot water into homes is making a real difference to the efficiency of housing stock, reducing housing providers’ reliance on fossil fuels, and lowers overall carbon emissions.
As an example, through Sureserve Compliance Central’s expert design, specification, and installation, one district council’s tenants are seeing tangible savings on their heating bills - with some paying just £40 a month in winter. And during the warmer periods of summer, this falls to just £10 per month for hot water needs only.
Indeed, happy residents have commented: “I tell everyone, it’s made a difference to me. I haven’t had to use my electric blanket since the installation. I used to have that on during the Summer,” and “I never thought it would be this good. I’ve lived here for 57 years, and I’ve never felt this warm.”
Educating users
But as newer technologies are introduced, there also needs to be constant awareness about how the end users of systems may feel. Sureserve Compliance Central sees this as a key priority as they collaborate with social housing providers on improvement projects - placing resident engagement at the heart of every project, ensuring tenants feel supported, confident, and informed throughout the transition to low-carbon heating.
Jon continues: “As we move to technologies like heat pumps, it’s vital we support households through the change, to make sure they feel comfortable with what (for many) is a new way of heating their home.”
To support this aim, Sureserve Compliance Central and Vaillant collaborate before an installation project gets underway and work to ensure that residents understand what is to come.
Jon says: “Before we commence any project, we work with Vaillant to ensure a working model of the heat pump is brought to site. This means the residents can see and hear a heat pump in action – often for the first time.
“Experts from both Sureserve Compliance Central and Vaillant are available to answer any questions or concerns from residents, and we work hard to alleviate any worries before we start. Education of this type is essential to gain acceptance and tackle any previously held views around issues such as heat pump noise and ease of use.”
Customer information brochures are provided to all affected residents. The communication covers how the air source heat pump works, how they are controlled, what to expect during and after the installation phase, as well as useful contacts for future reference.
As Jon comments: “Changing mindsets around renewable technologies and promoting the benefits is important if we are to ensure the housing-related decarbonisation journey is successful. We work hard to ensure this is the case on the projects we manage for local authorities and social housing providers, investing time and resources to work with residents.
“Following completion of the installation, we also visit each tenant to make sure they are happy with the new heating system and how to control it to suit their needs. For instance, with an air source heat pump, we explain that the system is consistently running for best efficiency, whereas a boiler could tolerate the on/off usage many people are so used to.”
Initial resident reactions to the install programme have been positive, with many commenting that their home is warm and the heat pump technology is easy to control as they wish.
The Vaillant package
The backup on offer from Vaillant and the support they have received to date as part of reaching the 1,000-heat pump installation landmark has certainly helped drive a successful rollout.
Jon continues: “From a quality-designed product through to aftersales and ongoing support, we feel confident about partnering with Vaillant. Working with a variety of councils and housing associations means meeting their expectations around important initiatives such as improving their housing stock.
“Such has been the success of the partnership that Sureserve Compliance Central has invested significantly in workforce development, including a dedicated training room equipped with Vaillant products. This ensures engineers remain at the forefront of best practice and continue to deliver consistently high-quality installations.
“It is vital that our workforce feels comfortable about the products we are asking them to install. Vaillant’s training support and facilities such as the training room, are great in ensuring they always feel up to date and can optimise the installation efficiencies we want to achieve.
“The success of programmes delivered by specialist contractors, such as Sureserve Compliance Central, backed by Vaillant’s technical innovation, can transform legacy stock in the sector - delivering lasting change for social housing providers and their residents.”
www.sureserve.co.uk
