Created by the former chief executive of a UK boiler company, Richard Soper, and specialist independent heating and plumbing merchants, Bell Plumbing Supplies, the new course is designed to give traditional heating and plumbing engineers an indication of just how easily and simply they could add renewable heating, cooling and ventilation to their current offering.

Supported by two showrooms in Worcester and Stourbridge and a dedicated training centre, the new CPD focuses on air movement and the Unico high velocity small duct system technology.

Relatively new to the UK but installed in more than half a million homes and businesses across the United States, the Unico System can be connected to a heat pump or traditional boiler system with options to provide heating, cooling and ventilation without the need for radiators.

Speaking about the transition from gas boilers to renewable systems, Richard Soper said: “Even with the 2025 deadline for new homes it’s clear that boiler technology will continue to play a big part in the way we heat our homes providing many hours of work for heating engineers for many years to come. As we’ve all seen, however, through the introduction of smart controls like Nest, homeowners are increasingly looking for ever more functionality from their heating system. Through the CPD we’ve developed with CIPHE we can allow heating engineers to provide their customers with the type of complete climate control that’s now virtually standard in all our cars, allowing them to add cooling, ventilation and renewable heating to their offering.”

Bell Plumbing Supplies, which has been serving skilled plumbing and heating engineers since 2007, is the UK’s exclusive distributor of the Unico System. Calvin Pope, commercial director at Bell Plumbing Supplies, said: “We are and always have been a plumbing and heating specialist merchant. It is clear to us and our installers that as the UK moves towards renewable heating, demand for technologies like air source heat pumps is only going to grow. One of the main reasons for choosing to become the sole UK distributor of the Unico System is that it offers traditional residential heating engineers a genuine opportunity to upskill and enter new sectors of the market.

“Our installation partners will be able to offer cost-effective high-end heating, cooling and ventilation, something that was previously only possible for MHVR and air conditioning specialists.”