The CIBSE Heat Pump Summit 2026 brought together a full house of industry professionals for a highly engaging and insightful day focused on accelerating the adoption of heat pump technologies across the built environment recently.
Held at CIBSE’s headquarters in Saffron Hill, the Summit welcomed engineers, consultants, policymakers, manufacturers and contractors, all united by a shared ambition to advance low-carbon heating solutions and support the UK’s transition to net zero. The strong turnout reflected both the growing importance of heat pumps within building services engineering and the appetite across the sector for practical guidance, collaboration and knowledge sharing.
The event opened with a welcome and keynote session from Colin Goodwin - CIBSE Technical Consultant and Director at CG Technical Property Services Limited, alongside Swetta Coopamah - Head of Smart Energy Systems at BEAMA. Their opening remarks set the tone for the day, highlighting the critical role of heat pumps in decarbonising heating and the need for coordinated action across industry and policy.
A key highlight of the Summit was the update on CIBSE’s heat pump guidance, delivered by Dr Jaydeep Bhadra - Domestic Sector Technical Manager at CIBSE, Iona Norton - Programme Director - Sustainability and Infastructure at Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust and Josh Bird - Founder at Rethink Buildings.
Attendees were provided with valuable insights into the latest developments, including AM16: Heat pump installations for multi-unit residential buildings, AM17: Heat pump installations for large non-domestic buildings, and the forthcoming guidance on Domestic Heat Pump Design and Installation. These updates reinforced CIBSE’s role in providing authoritative, practical guidance to support the sector in delivering high-quality heat pump installations.
The programme also featured a CPD session from Panasonic, offering technical expertise and practical perspectives on current technologies and applications.
A panel on the commercial application of heat pumps, featuring Colin Goodwin, Laura Bishop - Director at Hillside-Infinitas Ltd and Roger Hitchin - Consultant, explored the complexities and opportunities associated with deploying heat pumps at scale. Discussions covered whole system design, including storage, controls and optimisation, as well as the integration of heat pumps with existing HVAC and legacy systems. Real-world case studies provided valuable lessons on both successes and challenges, while the session also examined the role of heat pumps within heat networks and the opportunities created by zoning and local area energy planning.
The Government and regulatory landscape session brought together Channa Karunaratne - District Energy Market Sector Lead at AECOM, Charlotte Lee - Chief Executive at The Heat Pump Association, Marcus Shepard - Policy Manager, Sustainable Future Mission at NESTA and Sam Baptist - Head of Government Affairs at CIBSE to unpack the policy frameworks shaping the future of low-carbon heating. From the Warm Homes Plan and the Future Homes Standard to planning reforms and regulatory developments, the discussion highlighted the importance of clear, consistent policy signals in enabling industry progress.
The final session of the day focused on skills, workforce and the supply chain, with contributions from David Knipe - Technical and Training Manager at OFTEC, George Adams - Director of Energy and Engineering at SPIE LTD, Sally Godber - Director at WARM and Tony Day - Energy Research Consultant and Lead Author on CIBSE TM67 Electrification of Buildings for Net Zero. This session addressed one of the most pressing challenges facing the sector: ensuring the UK has the capacity, capability and training needed to deliver the scale of heat pump deployment required. Discussions covered skills gaps, training pathways, manufacturing capacity and the wider evolution of the heat pump ecosystem.
Throughout the day, a consistent theme emerged - the need for collaboration across disciplines, organisations and sectors to unlock the full potential of heat pump technology. The Summit provided a valuable platform for knowledge exchange, open discussion and shared learning, helping to bridge the gap between policy ambition and practical delivery.
CIBSE would like to thank all speakers, partners and attendees who contributed to making the Heat Pump Summit 2026 such a success. With strong engagement, high-quality discussions and a clear sense of purpose, the event underlined the vital role of the building services community in driving forward the decarbonisation agenda.
As momentum continues to build, CIBSE remains committed to supporting the industry with the knowledge, guidance and leadership needed to accelerate the transition to low-carbon heating.