Pioneering heat pump added to Science Museum collection

A Cornwall-made ground source heat pump that’s small enough to fit in a cupboard has been recognised by the Science Museum as a green heating trailblazer.

The Shoebox heat pump, manufactured by Truro based Kensa Heat Pumps, accounts for around one-third of all UK ground source heat pump installations and is the only ground source heat pump in the museum’s collection.

It will also be on display to anyone who visits the Science Museum’s new Energy Transition gallery.

First launched in 2012, Kensa’s ‘Little white box’ has helped reduce energy bills by over 50% for social housing residents

With over 7,500 manufactured, the Truro-designed and manufactured Shoebox accounts for around one-third of all UK ground source heat pump installations

The heat pump will be on display to the public as part of the Science Museum’s new Adani Green Energy Gallery, where it will sit alongside other trailblazing energy transition products, such as the historic Bersey electric taxi cab and one of the world’s first rechargeable batteries.

First launched in 2012, Kensa Shoebox heat pumps currently deliver green heat to thousands of homes and have helped lift numerous people out of fuel poverty. They were also a driving force in the development of Kensa’s Networked Ground Source Heat Pump model, a sustainable heating solution set to play a crucial role in the mass decarbonisation of UK homes and businesses.

Tamsin Lishman, Kensa Heat Pumps chief executive, said: “Street by street, Kensa is cleaning up heating across the UK, bringing Ground Source Heat Pumps to flats, terraced streets, tower blocks, period properties and other supposedly hard to decarbonise homes and buildings, taking people out of fuel poverty, and making homes warm and comfortable through renewable technology.

“From heating tower blocks to terraces and new builds, the Shoebox is responsible for so much of what Kensa does. Seeing our ‘little white box’ featured in this exhibition and immortalised in the Science Museum collection as a green heating pioneer is a remarkable achievement, but one this incredible Cornwall-made product fully deserves.

“The Shoebox is a brilliant example of what Cornwall’s manufacturing and engineering sector can deliver, and with our new Shoebox NX, we’ve taken things one step further, producing a compact, powerful heat pump that’s set to change the way people think about renewable heating.”