Invitation to Tender for Provision of Academic Evaluator Support for Northern Ireland Hybrid Heating Trial 2026 - 2028

Description

a. Phoenix Energy, in partnership with Kinecx Energy and Evolve, are preparing to conduct a large-scale, Northern Ireland-wide, hybrid heating trial between Q2 2026 and Q4 2028. The results from this Trial are expected to inform the development of NI Executive low-carbon heating policy. b. As part of the Trial, up to 115 homes will receive a hybrid heating system: that is an air source heat pump (ASHP) (4kw – 16kw), a gas boiler (combi or system), and an optional hot water cylinder. Some homeowners participating in the Trial may opt to retain their existing gas boiler and add a new ASHP and hybrid control unit. c. Up to 55 gas installations will receive a new gas boiler but will not receive an ASHP. d. As part of the Trial, each heating system installed (up to 170 in total (depending on consumer uptake) will incorporate a co-installed monitoring system in order to record heating system performance and generate accurate data for the period 2026-2028 to be used in trial reporting. e. It is in the expectation that the data and learnings generated from the Trial will inform the development of NI Executive low carbon heating policy. f. To ensure the data and learnings from the Trial are robust, the Trial administrators are seeking the services of a suitably qualified academic institution to: i. Provide expert academic support to the Phoenix Core Trial Team (CTT) throughout the timeline of the trial. ii. Attend and provide expert academic support at Trial Board meetings designed to monitor Trial progress and review results/learnings. iii. Independently review the 3 major Hybrid Trial reports g. The full roles and responsibilities of the proposed Trial Academic Evaluator are set out in the ‘Role and Purpose of the Academic Evaluator’ section in the accompanying ‘Background to NI Hybrid Heating Trial’ document.