George Clarke

Mitsubishi Electric has recently conducted some research with IPSOS that suggests 7 in 10 people know little or nothing about heat pumps. 

On the one hand I find this really surprising because heat pumps have been in the press and across many forms of media in a MASSIVE way over the last
2 years.

The government have been pushing air source heat pumps and so has the industry. They are now regarded as one of the ecological and sustainable replacements for fossil-fuel burning heating systems.

But, on the other hand, with people being bombarded with so much information from many different directions about so many ‘alternative solutions’ to virtually everything, it is hardly surprising that they aren’t up to speed with air source heat pumps.

You know things are changing when Evan Davis on Radio 4’s ‘PM’ programme starts talking about Air Source Heat Pumps. Yep, that’s exactly what happened on my radio yesterday.
Evan Davis did a long feature on heat pumps and even visited a home that had one installed.
Unfortunately, he went to a big posh house in London where the install costs they mentioned were massive and over a third over the cost of a typical 4-bedroom house installation, so I’m worried his feature may have inadvertently put people off.
Anyway, Evan is going to be talking about heat pumps again tonight and over the next few days, which is all very exciting for us heat pump fans.
So why is he talking about this? Because things are changing and they are changing pretty fast. At last!
For me, the rate of change hasn’t been fast enough or big enough, but things are definitely happening. The next few months are massive for the UK and for the global green economy.

George Clarke explores the contradictions in government housing policy

So, the government has published a new, draft National Model Design Code (NMDC) to ‘bring back beauty’ to the way new-build homes and estates are built across the country.

Following on from the ‘Building Better Building Beautiful Commission’ that published its report in January 2020, the government has since appointed URBED, a design and research company based in Manchester, to produce a checklist of design principles to consider for new developments covering everything from urban design to street character, facades, building types, environmental design and well-being.

TV presenter and architect George Clarke is known for his forthright views on issues affecting housing and the built environment and he's has long been a champion of good design and sustainability.
He is also Ecodan Ambassador for heat pump manufacturer, Mitsubishi Electric and writes regularly on their blogsite about issues affecting the construction industry and housing in particular.

With a healthy majority, what should the priority be for our Prime Minister?

George Clarke has a simple message for our PM and it’s all about fixing the housing crisis in the right way

George Clarke on housebuilding: ‘Transforming the Housing Technology Mindset’