Senior team members have visited their new home-to-be as Ideal Heating fits out its industry-leading research and development centre. The £19.2m UK Technology Centre ( UKTC ), located at Ideal’s headquarters site in Hull, will enhance significantly the company’s R&D capabilities, providing a testbed for both current and future products.

The UKTC is due to be operational from September and forms part of a wider £60m investment across the Hull site as the market leader pivots towards technologies which will decarbonise UK heating.

The R&D workforce at the Hull site has more than doubled over recent years, reflecting Ideal’s significant investment in its product development capabilities.

The new centre will bring together more than 100 R&D and product development specialists who are currently located in various facilities across the site.

Stephen Patton, Ideal Heating’s R&D Director (Thermodynamics), toured the facilities as they take shape with colleagues, and said: “The UKTC represents a step change in our in-house R&D and testing capabilities.

“Bringing world-class equipment and testing facilities to our site in Hull will accelerate and advance the development of our products. The UKTC brings with it significant benefits in time, cost and efficiency of R&D processes.

“The UKTC will be, quite simply, the leading facility of its kind in the UK. Work on the centre is progressing well and we look forward to opening the building later this year.”

The UKTC will feature six climatic chambers, with temperature and humidity controlled from -20°C to 50°C. It means Ideal can stress-test products in even the most dramatic and extreme of temperatures and environments.

Alongside the climatic chambers are specialist test chambers including hemi-anechoic chambers, which test the noise emissions and sound levels from both boilers and heat pumps, and EMC chambers which test products for electromagnetic interference from other “smart” appliances found in the home.

Ideal Heating’s R&D team will relocate from their existing facilities to the UKTC in phases. Product testing in the climatic chambers will begin in September, with anechoic and EMC testing due to commence in early 2026.

Jason Speedy, Chief Operations Officer at Ideal Heating, said: “The UKTC is a major statement of intent. It reaffirms our commitment to the energy transition and investing in the technologies which will heat our homes for decades to come.

“For more than century, the name Ideal has been synonymous with quality and innovation, as we continually work to meet the ever-changing needs of the heating sector.

“The UKTC will enable us to continue to push boundaries, set new standards in heating technology and develop the next generation of products.” 

Testing within the UKTC is split into two key areas – performance and reliability.

The centre provides Ideal Heating’s R&D team with dedicated work and collaboration spaces directly next to where the testing is taking place.

Also located within the UKTC is an in-house training room and a 3D printing facility, which will be used to produce prototype components and parts.

The UKTC has been designed and built to BREEAM standard – a world-leading sustainability assessment for the built environment.

Key sustainability features include LED lighting and controls, air source heat pumps, a mechanical heat recovery system, sub-metering of electrical distribution, and high-performance building fabric to reduce heat loss.

Ideal Heating is also installing new solar panels at its Hull site, which will provide renewable electricity for the UKTC.

The UKTC development has been principally delivered by Yorkshire-based contractor Henry Boot Construction. 

The project is backed by more than £2m of seed capital funding from Humber Freeport, having been identified as a significant project which will help the Humber region decarbonise its industries and transition to a net zero economy.

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