Tomorrow’s Energy

How do we create warmer, healthier homes while ensuring the energy transition is fair for everyone?

In this episode of Tomorrow's Energy, host Hannah Walker is joined by Ian Preston from the Centre for Sustainable Energy to discuss retrofitting homes, tackling fuel poverty, adapting to a changing climate, and ensuring communities benefit from the transition to net zero.

From heat pumps and energy efficiency to overheating homes and energy justice, Ian shares practical insights on the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of energy in the UK.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems. We'll hear from those at the forefront of the energy transition, ask about the challenges and discover how today's decisions are creating a more sustainable tomorrow for all of us.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.

Our guest for this episode is Darryl Plummer, programmes director at Groundwork Five Counties. The charity works with local authorities and social housing providers across the East Midlands to help residents stay warm, healthy and safe in their homes through energy advice and support.

Darryl discusses the growing pressures facing households as energy costs continue to rise and explains how many people are still being forced to choose between heating and other essential living costs. He shares insights from the charity's work visiting homes, supporting vulnerable residents and tackling issues such as fuel poverty, damp and mould.

The conversation explores the charity's Green Doctor service, which provides free, tailored energy advice to households. Darryl explains how simple measures such as reviewing energy tariffs, improving heating controls, installing draught-proofing and switching to LED lighting can help residents reduce energy costs and improve comfort in their homes. He also highlights the importance of practical support for people facing energy debt and the wider health impacts of living in cold homes.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems. We'll hear from those at the forefront of the energy transition, ask about the challenges and discover how today's decisions are creating a more sustainable tomorrow for all of us.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.

Our guest for this episode is Dean Firth, assistant director for housing at Salix. With more than a decade of retrofit experience and a master's degree in renewable energy development, Dean shares practical advice on improving home energy efficiency and the realities of domestic retrofit.

In this conversation, Dean discusses why insulation should often come before technologies such as solar panels, the most cost-effective improvements homeowners can make, and the common mistakes people make when upgrading their properties. He explains the importance of loft and wall insulation, the role of ventilation in preventing damp and mould, and why heat pumps require a different approach to heating.

The discussion also explores how households can prioritise improvements on different budgets, the growing availability of new energy technologies, and why retrofit is about more than reducing bills. Dean highlights the benefits of thermal comfort, healthier living conditions and creating warmer, more resilient homes for the future.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems. We'll hear from those at the forefront of the energy transition, ask about the challenges and discover how today's decisions are creating a more sustainable tomorrow for all of us.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.

Our guest in this episode is Tom Naughton from Fairheat.

Tom is Chief Operating Officer at Fairheat; he is a chartered engineer (CEng) and a member of the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (MCIBSE). He is an expert in designing and operating district and communal heat networks, with a background in building services mechanical engineering.

Fairheat is a specialist energy consultancy focused exclusively on heat networks and building performance.

We discuss how heat networks are a key technology in helping the UK decarbonise heat and work towards net zero emissions targets. Tom shares his first-hand knowledge of how their work improves delivery for clients and residents, and reduces emissions.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems.

The team at Salix Finance produces this podcast.

Our guest in this episode is Steven Heape from the Carbon and Energy Fund (CEF).

Steven is head of project development as well as technical advisor. As an experienced Chartered Engineer, he is also an expert in renewable energy and decarbonisation of public sector estate.

He has worked with the Carbon and Energy Fund since just after its creation in 2013, developing cutting edge carbon reduction schemes in the NHS, from inception, though procurement and construction.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.

Duncan Law, head of policy and advocacy at Community Energy England, is our guest in this episode.

Duncan joined CEE in 2019 having co-founded Brixton Energy and Repowering London in 2011.

Community Energy England is the voice of the community energy sector, representing organisations from across the community, public and private sectors.

It works with its members to help create a fair and zero carbon energy system through the growth of community energy.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.

We are sorry for the poor audio quality of Duncan's voice in this recording.

Our guest this episode is Chris Hewett, chief executive of Solar Energy UK.

He took on the top job in 2018, bringing 25 years of experience dealing with environmental and energy issues.

Previously, Chris was head of climate change for the Environment Agency, an associate at Green Alliance, and a senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Solar Energy UK is a not-for-profit trade association working for and representing the entire solar and energy storage value chain.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.

Our guest in this episode four is David Pierpoint, the founder and chief executive of The Retrofit Academy.

He has spent more than a decade addressing the skills gap in the retrofit sector, working closely with government, industry, and education to scale up retrofit training.

To achieve the UK’s target of net zero by 2050, everyone home will need to be retrofit ready and meeting minimum standards of decarbonisation.

That requires a workforce of more than 400,000 people properly trained to meet the challenge.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.

Our guest for this episode is Sarah Glaser, external affairs manager from Hemiko.

Sarah’s job is to help showcase the work of heat networks.

Hemiko is an investor, developer, and operator of heat networks across the UK, utilising locally wasted heat to enable rapid decarbonisation at scale and accelerating progress towards a post-carbon future.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.

Our guest for this episode is Bean Beanland, from the Heat Pump Association UK.

Bean is a physics graduate from Imperial College. He is was the director for growth and external affairs at the Heat Pump Federation but since the merger of the heat pump trade bodies, he has a consultative role at the Heat Pump Association UK.

The organisation works with government, business and stakeholders to help shape policy, provide robust data, develop technical standards and support training best practice.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.

Our guest for this episode is Stephen Knight, chief executive of the Heat Trust.

The trust is the national consumer champion and protection scheme for district and communal heating systems in the UK.

It was set up as a non-profit and has been setting customer service standards since 2015.

In our Tomorrow's Energy series, we explore breakthrough technologies, emerging trends and practical solutions shaping tomorrow's energy systems.

The podcast is produced by the team at Salix Finance.