There is often a lack of craftsmen who can install a new heating system.
Dusseldorf The increasing shortage of craftsmen in the heating sector is creating new business models – and new interest from large financiers. For example at the Dutch company Heat Transformers. It offers online advice and installation for consumers who want to get a heat pump.
Now Heat Transformers also wants to become active in Germany, with the help of a large investor. Venture capitalist Energy Impact Partners is investing €15 million in Heat Transformers.
There are four important areas for climate-friendly heating, says the head of Energy Impact Partners Europe, Matthias Dill. These are firstly a cheaper heat pump production, secondly the gas price development, thirdly a better understanding among the customers and fourthly the installation capacities. “We see areas three and four in particular as the main bottlenecks in the heat transition, which are being addressed in particular by innovative digital start-ups,” says Dill.
Offer for a heat pump without craftsmen on site
In concrete terms, this means that homeowners should be able to save themselves the first appointment with the craftsman at home thanks to Heat Transformers. “Heat Transformers can provide homeowners with a specific quote for installing a heat pump based on photos and videos they upload of their home, without ever having to visit an installer,” says Dill.
One thing is clear: online advice does not simply work from the sofa. The homeowners have to take some time beforehand, walk through the house, take photos and videos and collect the necessary information. Then they talk to a Heat Transformers employee who, for example, has an engineering degree.
A craftsman only comes to the customer’s home when it is really about installing the heat pump on site. For this purpose, Heat Transformers also works with independent installers.
For the investor Energy Impact Partners, the heat transition and the shortage of craftsmen are becoming an opportunity for new markets. “Whenever industries change, new companies emerge that grow quickly,” says Dill.
On the one hand, Energy Impact Partners works with almost 60 industrial groups such as the large energy groups Shell, EWE or Fortum in order to understand industry trends at an early stage. On the other hand, the investor is invested in more than 100 start-ups. Energy Impact Partners brings both sides together. Dill says: “We have already brokered deals with a total turnover of over one billion euros.”
Advice on heating against a shortage of craftsmen
One of the companies that Energy Impact Partners is counting on for rapid growth is Heat Transformers. Because the company relieves craftsmen of exactly those tasks that cause them additional work and also increasingly overwhelm them in an increasingly complex heating world, as can be heard again and again from the industry: the first interaction with the customer, advice and the reliable organization of components and Heat pumps despite delivery bottlenecks.
The hope for the industry: If service providers like Heat Transformers take over some of the handyman tasks, the handymen can spend more time on installation and maintenance. This should help to remedy the shortage of skilled workers in the heating sector. Studies assume that there will be a skills shortage of between 50,000 and several hundred thousand people by 2030 in the heating sector.
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It is hoped that the customer will not incur any extra costs. “The work that needs to be done is the same as contracting directly with the handyman,” says Dill. “Only the division of labor is different. So the prices for the customers are customary in the market.”
Standard on the market, that means at the moment: extremely expensive. But still: Especially with the forthcoming new political regulations for switching to climate-friendly heating systems, many people are currently happy to find an installer at all.
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