From March 13 to 17, the European Heat Pump Association, partner responsible for the competency framework within HP4All, among other tasks, participated at the ISH show in its 2023 edition.

Dan Stefanica, Head of EU Projects, explained at EHPA’s booth HP4All results and achievements.

ISH is a worldwide trade fair for Heat Ventilation, Air Conditioning, Cooling and  Water hosted at Frankfurt am Main (Germany).

On November 9-10, Dan Stefanica, Head of EU Projects at the European Heat Pump Association attended the 16th SET Plan conference: Towards a new strategic energy technology plan In Prague, Czech Republic.

Dan spoke at the session on the green-digital twin transition. Highlighting that the green and digital transitions reinforce each other and that their relationship should be further discussed. Future-proof jobs and skills are one of the areas through which the European Green Deal is to improve the well-being and health of citizens and future generations. At the same time, insufficient workforce with adequate skills sets has been identified as a significant current bottleneck of the clean energy transition. The session aimed to explore how coordinated skills policy can help overcome these challenges. With HP4All being used as a best practice example.

The Homeowner webinar series was organized by the Irish HP4ALL pilot from November 14 to November 23 in cooperation with a number of organizations.

In essence, 8 webinars covered everything a homeowner needs to know about effectively heating their home and their hot water.

If you missed them, you can now check them for free here.

For the third time in Upper Austria, the “Certified Heat Pump Installer/Planner” course will take place in Linz from 16-26 November 2022 (in German). The multi-day course, which is offered by the OÖ Energiesparverband in cooperation with Heat Pump Austria and the AIT, aims to improve the heat pump sector through high-quality and efficient systems in single-family homes.

Participants who successfully complete the course and final examination have the possibility of gaining certification (“certified heat pump installer/planner”), thus increasing their recognition as qualified and high-skilled professionals on the Upper Austrian market.

Find our more and register today: https://www.energiesparverband.at/alle-veranstaltungen/zertifizierter-waermepumpen-installateur/-planer

CTA, the Spanish pilot of the HP4ALL project, participated, together with Iberdrola, in the second Spanish heat pump forum held in Córdoba (Spain) on October 20.

During the day, CTA showcased the objective and tools of the project and how it can contribute to improving training in the heat pump sector, both for installers and users.

From August 10 until September 22, HP4ALL’s Irish pilot, in collaboration with several entities, organised the Comfort and energy in construction webinar series.

In short, 14 webinars built capacity among construction workers for them to be prepared for the latest wave in building technologies, policies and regulations.

These 15-minute webinars occurred every Wednesday and Thursday and they brought several topics:

10th August: Nearly Zero Energy Building

11th August: Heat Pumps Overview

17th August: Heat Pump & Refrigerants

18th August: SEAI Heat Pump Grant inspection

24th August: Heat Loss Calculations & DEAP Software

25th August: Circular Economy and Construction Waste

31st August: Emission Systems

1st September: Pipe sizing with Heat Pumps

7th September: Retrofit Management

8th September: Insulation

14th September: Airtightness

15th September: Ventilation

21st September: Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

22nd September: Customer handover

If you missed them, you can now check them for free here.

On September 14, Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), HP4ALL’s coordinator, was part of the Offaly County Council Climate Action Day celebrated in Tullamore (Ireland).

During the event, TUS exhibited at their booth HP4ALL current activities, including the Comfort & Energy in Construction Webinar Series is being held each week online.

In June-July 2022, 20 professionals took part in the 6-day training course and exam to become an energy advisor in Upper Austria. Through this training, which is offered every year by the OÖ Energiesparverband (the regional energy agency of Upper Austria), participants gain comprehensive knowledge in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy, with a strong focus on building physics, energy technologies, economic aspects, subsidies and more. They learn how to use the handbook for energy advisors and practice using several case studies. The training offers an opportunity of further education for professionals in the energy sector and corresponds to the Austria-wide training for energy advisors.

With the pandemic restrictions lifting after one and a half years, the HP4ALL consortium was able to meet face-to-face for the first time and discuss the achievements to date and the future work ahead.

On May 19 in Brussels (Belgium), results on the knowledge hub were presented, as well as the progress of the benchmarking tool. HP4ALL’s pilot regions (Austria, Ireland, Spain) updated on the engagement events and progress achieved to date.

Likewise, several discussions were held about the competency framework.

Finally, the partners pointed out the importance of the continuous collaboration with related initiatives, which is already ongoing with the participation in joint events, as well as, in terms of policy recommendations.