09 June 2025
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Image: Louise and Richard enjoying one of her favourite pastimes — exploring historical sites together
Louise Howlett, Commercial Director at R A Brown Heating Services, shares her journey in the heat pump industry, including her role as an inspirational spokesperson within and for the sector. With passion, she discusses the key challenges facing the industry and the importance of encouraging more women to join the sector.
My first job after university was with an archaeological unit in Canterbury, where I worked in finds processing. I really enjoyed learning about different materials — particularly Roman artefacts — and loved the experience of working alongside volunteers.
I found my way into the heat pump industry somewhat inadvertently — by marrying a heating engineer, Richard Brown. Back in 2002, Richard was beginning to specialise in underfloor heating and was starting to take on larger projects outside of Norwich, such as barn conversions in rural Norfolk and Suffolk.
Around 2007, he was asked to supply an underfloor heating kit for an innovative self-build project in Suffolk. The homeowner was installing a ground source heat pump, which sparked Richard’s interest in the potential of heat pump technology. This encounter inspired him to begin exploring the idea of installing complete heat pump systems himself.
Richard enjoyed working on larger, more complex projects and had a vision for growing the business. We were both drawn to heat pumps for their potential to decarbonise homes and reduce environmental impact. Together, we shared a passion for innovation and set out to create a new kind of service for our customers. I began developing a practical model for a specialist heating company — one that could meet the growing demand for sustainable solutions.
What does your current role involve?
Richard and I were both keen to grow our business. Over time, I found myself naturally taking on all the things that Richard either didn’t enjoy or wasn’t particularly drawn to. In many ways, I’ve taught myself how to handle everything involved in running a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) — from the behind-the-scenes operations to the day-to-day management that keeps things moving forward. We have built a good team over the years, so nowadays I focus on ‘top level’ tasks.
We are currently overhauling all of our systems and processes to utilise a single end to end platform. Over the last couple of years, it has seemed essential for me to pivot to become more of a spokesperson within the industry. I have networked with our peers at a national level. I am continually ‘scouting’ around; looking for new tools, connections and opportunities to improve the way we work.
I am currently writing a book – which is a big task to fit around everything else. I realised that homeowners need honest straightforward advice on how to set about switching to a heat pump. That’s what I’m working on producing.
I'm very passionate about developing skills within our industry, and it's been a long-standing commitment for us— we’ve been running our apprenticeship programme for over 25 years. I’m actively involved in the MCS-led group supporting the delivery of the Low Carbon Heating Technician Apprenticeship, and I also represent our company on the CIPHE Trailblazer Group.
In November, I had the pleasure of attending the H&V News Awards ceremony as one of the judges. I was both surprised and honoured to be nominated — and even more so to receive the Outstanding Achievement of the Year award for my work in training and skills development, as well as for promoting positive messaging through The Heating Trades Network.
What do you see as the challenges facing the industry?
A severe lack of commitment from Government. Heat pumps are all ‘talk’ and only superficial action at the moment. Since the end of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in Spring 2022, nothing has properly aligned in the market. At times, it seems as though the powers that be expect the transition to heat pumps to happen ‘by magic,’ in spite of significant barriers such as ‘the spark gap’ and a lack of clear, measurable targets for the decarbonisation of houses.
I am also concerned about the quality of installations being delivered by large housebuilders. We have visited relatively new houses still being controlled by multiple thermostats, leading to inefficient system performance. This really upsets me as the homeowner is not wowed by their system and therefore not having the best ‘heat pump’ experience.
Possibly the most significant challenge for deployment of heat pumps in ‘normal homes’ is the recognised gap where grant finance is not sufficient to enable the homeowners’ to afford to switch – they need a substantial and easily accessible ‘green loan’ which currently is not currently readily available.
Did you have any mentors or anyone in particular who inspired you?
I must admit I almost left the industry a few years ago – I retrained as a Nutritionist and Transformative Coach. Just as I was about to set up a ‘wellbeing practice’ in 2022 I realised that I needed to put my new shiny positive mindset back into the heating business. The detrimental effects of the end of the RHI were taking its toll. I worked alongside an amazing Coach – Emma Davis of Reconnect Retreats. I also have huge respect for a therapist I met along the way – Nicola Hall, along with peers in the industry such as Emma Bohan, Leah Robson and Andrea Ellison of GSHPA.
What would you say to other women who are considering coming into the heat pump industry?
A lesson I’ve learned in recent years is that a blend of skills is needed in our industry. I used to be frustrated that I had to do all the business ‘drudgery’ because I wasn’t the technical lead of the company. Now I feel that women can contribute a lot of vital skills in the sector; creativity, problem solving, customer service, leadership. In our company the Technical Sales personnel ‘at the helm’ are very talented but ‘unstructured’. There are several very strong organised women who create the necessary structure and attention to detail needed to deliver the installations.
Heat Pump installations require more of these skills than traditional heating partly because of MCS compliance and the longer sales journey. It may be a controversial thing to say but I believe many ambitious heating companies would benefit from bringing in a female MD to balance out their company and complement the technical founder and other Engineers who are almost invariably ‘guys’. This could take away some of the ‘stress’ and feeling of overwhelm experienced by many heating company founders.
I feel another great role for women to come into within the industry is as a Mechanical Engineer – design work is so important within our industry.
It may seem like I’m not encouraging young women to train as heating engineers, but that’s definitely not the case. There are just some practical challenges to address. I can see that some young women might consider training as heating engineers a few years after leaving school, but, to date, we haven’t had any applications from female school leavers.
There are also financial barriers when it comes to taking on apprentices who are not school leavers, particularly due to the sharp increases in the living wage rates for 18–20-year-olds and those over 21.
However, I’d like to explore opportunities for female engineers leaving the forces who may be interested in retraining as heat pump technicians. It’s a growing field, and I believe we could offer a great pathway for women looking to transition into this industry.
What do you like to do outside of work?
Lots of things. I love looking at historical ruins wherever I am in the world, castles, churches and Roman stuff. I am a keen walker – I feel sunlight and fresh air are so important for wellbeing. I enjoy meditative movement such as Qigong, Tandava and Pilates. I have a ‘tribe’ connected with my transformative coaching which finds me travelling to events in many locations. Richard and I are doing quite a bit of travelling this year – we’re still very motivated by our work but don’t believe in putting off exploring the world until we retire. We live in Norfolk surrounded by many beaches and have a beach obsessed dog! I also love cooking and chopping vegetables is my happy place after a day in front of the computer.
