Octopus raises the temperature with Cosy heat pump

Labelled ‘Cosy Octopus’, the home energy ecosystem consists of the 6kW Cosy 6 heat pump, as well as the Cosy Hub control system, Cosy Pods room sensors, and a bespoke smart heat pump energy tariff. The heat pump is manufactured in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, and was designed by Dr Jason Cassells, CEO of Octopus Heating, formerly Renewable Energy Devices before it was acquired by Octopus. The 6kW launch product should be powerful enough to heat a typical three-bedroom home, but Octopus says additional sizes will become available over the next six months.

As the Cosy 6 runs at high temperatures of 78-80°C, it will be compatible with most existing radiator and hot water systems, though high temperature heat pumps are not as energy efficient as devices that operate at lower temperatures. For homes that don’t need any additional work to fit the system, Cosy Octopus could be free when taking the government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant into account. Customers who require new radiators, piping or a hot water tank should be able to adopt the system for a cost of around £3,000, according to Octopus.

“This paves the way to heat pumps for everyone,” Octopus Energy Group CEO and founder Greg Jackson said at the Energy Tech Summit in London, run in partnership with Wired. “This is a huge day for clean heating. The combination of a high-temperature heat pump (as hot as a gas boiler), Octopus smart tariffs and room sensors across your home doesn’t just open up cheaper clean heating - but more comfort too.”

The ‘Cosy Hub’ and ‘Cosy Pods’ were developed in-house at Octopus by a team in London led by electrical engineer Derya Robinson, senior programme lead at Octopus Energy who has previously worked on the company’s smart metre products. Octopus’ technology platform Kraken will be used to coordinate the heat pump, the pods and the hub, enabling the system to tap into greener and off-peak tariffs.