Beeb presenter banned from making heat pump podcast

In a move that's baffled many in the heat pump industry, the BBC has pulled the plug on the Happy Heat Pump podcast, after telling its presenter, Evan Davies, that he can no longer be involved with the project.

The podcast, which is made independently but fronted by the well known BBC presenter, has made 20 episodes with the aim of dispelling myths around the technology by showing the benefits of installing the high-efficiency, low carbon heating system in your home.

Link to the Happy Heat Pump Podcast:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiPkbRdOyInkljWw9lg55GA

The heat pump industry is used to getting more than its fair share of bad press - but this almost always comes from media frenzies that are whipped up by fossil-fuel friendly outlets.

Now, the BBC is claiming the podcast, that shows the positive side of heat pumps, runs the risk of political bias. Heat pumps are, apparently, too closely linked with the UKs net zero policies which is a political topic.

Ironically, this decision suggests the BBC is itself anti-heat pump, making the cooperation into the very thing it was trying to avoid by making this announcement in the first place... it has shown itself to not be impartial in the debate between clean energy and fossil fuels.

You can read more here:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/apr/22/bbc-tells-pm-evan-davis-to-stop-hosting-heat-pump-podcast

This story has once again taken the spotlight away from one of heat pump's main benefits (aside from clean energy)... cheaper energy bills.

Here's a real life example, using my personal set up:

My heat pump, from the Mitsubishi Ecodan range. It's a bit battered after 10 years of service, but still going strong..

My Mitsubishi Ecodan air source heat pump. Still going strong after 10 years.

My PV panels only offered 1.6kWp when new, but 15 years later they are still delivering.

Installed in 2010, I have 8 x 200watt panels... modern panels can deliver double the output

My total electricity bill, minus the Feed-In-Tariff, is £45 a month. That covers all energy use, not just heating and hot water, in a large three-bed house built in the 1950s.

Granted, the Feed-In-Tariff from 15 years ago is no longer available for new installations, but the Government is offering thousands to households who switch to heat pumps, and the efficiency of PV panels is significantly better now than it was in 2010.

And the most interesting thing, after all these years of living with a heat pump and PV combination, I've never once heard my house say anything even remotely politically controversial! 😉