The Heating Installer Awards at this year’s InstallerSHOW offered a snapshot of how rapidly the sector is changing

From ageing pipework and inefficient legacy systems to the demands of heat pumps and low-carbon heating, UK heating engineers are being asked to solve increasingly complex problems. The shift towards low-carbon heating technologies, increased demand for energy-efficient homes and the scale of retrofit work across the UK are all reshaping the skills required in the heating sector.

Heating Installer Awards reflect changing demands

According to Laura Mashiter, organiser of the Heating Installer Awards, one of the biggest changes has been the complexity of projects being submitted.

The Heating Installer Awards ask applicants to submit case studies based on completed domestic heating projects. The judges look for technical expertise, quality design and problem-solving. ‘The project could be a straightforward house or something far more complex,’ says Mashiter. ‘What matters is how they approach the problem.’

Complex challenge led to regional award

Few projects illustrate that better than the installation that made Liam Crossley the winner of the North West Heating Installer Awards 2025.

Crossley’s winning entry involved a converted barn property that had been altered multiple times over several years.

By the time his team arrived, the building was effectively operating as three separate properties with three disconnected heating systems.

‘It was very inefficient,’ Crossley says. ‘Over time, different parts of the property had been changed and adapted, and the heating systems reflected that.’

The property had an ageing infrastructure, leaks and outdated pipework, as well as major budget constraints.

‘We couldn’t strip everything out and start again,’ he says. ‘The client didn’t have the budget for a complete replacement, so we had to think carefully about improving performance in stages.’

The solution required combining multiple heating systems into a more efficient design while protecting new appliances from weaknesses elsewhere in the system.

After winning the regional award, he was invited to visit some of the sponsors’ manufacturing bases, including Polypipe and Stelrad: ‘You’re buying the products, you’re fitting the products, you understand the products, but you don’t think about the manufacturing processes and the challenges that they’ll have to overcome. So that was a real eye-opener for us.’

Low-carbon heating is reshaping installer skills

Crossley believes the role of heating engineers is becoming more demanding. It is no longer about just fitting boilers or replacing components. Instead, it requires diagnostic skills, design capability and the expertise to balance performance, cost and future upgrade potential. Technologies such as air source heat pumps are also pushing installers into new technical territory. Skills such as heat-loss calculations, hydraulic balancing and system optimisation are becoming essential.

His own career reflects this shift. After serving in the military, he entered the heating sector in 2010 and spent nine years with British Gas before launching his own Manchester-based business in 2019. Since then, his work has increasingly moved towards complex design-led projects. Winning regional recognition increased the workload for his company: ‘The bigger and more complex jobs are coming to us now,’ he says.

Crossley says industry collaboration and peer support are playing an increasingly important role in helping installers adapt.

The professional relationships developed through industry events and networking have helped him expand into system design, heat pumps and air conditioning. ‘There’s a lot more knowledge-sharing in the industry now,’ he says. ‘People understand that staying still isn’t really an option anymore.’

The awards help companies and contractors extend their network. Liam Crossley says that once you are part of the awards process, you are part of an exclusive club. ‘Don’t think about it, just do it. 100%. The benefits, contacts and the experience have been highlights, but they’ve also allowed me to make faster progress in my career and my business.’

For more information, go to: https://www.installershow.com/heating-installer-awards