Connecting installers in the digital world

Digital transformation is rapidly changing the working life of installers as they prepare for the energy transition and the products and services enabling this switch. At BDR Thermea Group, we are supporting installers in this new era by helping them become familiar with this new, and sometimes scary, world of digital technology.

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New world, new demands

Installers are seeing new demands and new tasks from their customers. These could include designing a solution such as what heat pump indoor and outdoor combination they would recommend, to more complex types of requests.

“Until quite recently, an installer would install a boiler in a few steps,” says Ignacio Contin, GPM Digital Solution. “Now home comfort products may include a boiler, a heat pump, hybrids, solar thermal solutions - the list goes on, even including new ways of managing installations using Digital tools like apps. The job has definitely become much more complex, and an installer needs to dedicate time to training and upskilling.”

Steven Eales, International Go to Market Manager, Connected Services, points to the energy transition as the starting point of this shift. Many of the installers and the third-party maintenance businesses the group brands deal with are still traditional gas boiler businesses, somewhere in the process of pivoting to greener options. “On the journey to de-carbonising energy and changing regulations, installers are not only needing to upgrade their skill sets but also to start interacting with their customers in a different way to support this change,” he says.

With our strong customer focus, we are constantly innovating to support our installers and specifiers. Our smart and connected tools help them to design the right solutions, and install and maintain our products and systems.

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Supporting installers across our markets

  • We train tens of thousands of installers every year. This helps them to advise end-users, and ensures they safely install and service our products.
  • Our Baxi heating business in the UK offers a connected remote service proposition that harnesses digital technology to deliver more effective and proactive customer support for one of its most popular boilers. The subscription-based service enables 24/7 monitoring and remote maintenance, and keeps customers – both installers and end-users – up to date on upcoming services or maintenance needs.
  • Smart technology drives remote maintenance with Baxi Spain’s smart room unit. Connected wirelessly to the cloud via Bluetooth, it monitors boilers and heat pumps 24/7. The tool can also indicate when the boiler or heat pump is due for maintenance, allowing for predictive rather than reactive maintenance.
  • Our Remeha Business in the Netherlands is building API solutions which enable the integration of Appliances DATA into customers systems which allow them to monitor the performance and improve their operations by integrating it in their unique system.
  • In most of the countries, we offer smart commissioning wizards that save installers time and ensure the system achieves maximum efficiency and performance of heat pumps.
  • We offer the tens of thousands of installers servicing our products every day apps such as the Smart Service Tool in selected markets. This tool enables them to read out the product, set parameters and identify any issues using their tablet of smartphone.