UK manufacturers’ heat blind spot hampers decarbonisation efforts, survey reveals

Most UK manufacturers lack basic visibility into how much heat they consume and how efficiently their heating plants operate, a new survey by Glasgow-based Star Refrigeration finds, revealing what the company describes as a “critical blind spot” that undermines competitiveness and decarbonisation efforts.

According to the survey of around 100 major sites across energy‑intensive sectors including food and drink, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, fewer than one in four respondents could state both their annual heating energy consumption and the size of their heating plant. Where figures were reported, systems were operating at an average utilisation of just 24%, indicating many sites run oversized, under‑used heating infrastructure at low efficiency.

Manufacturers remain heavily reliant on gas, with an average of 67% of heat demand met by fossil fuels, the survey showed. More than half of respondents said their heating systems were over 20 years old, while only around a third had installed heat sub‑metering. The lack of data is evident even among businesses that are otherwise engaged in energy or decarbonisation planning.

“The survey confirms that there is huge potential for efficiency improvements that remains untapped simply because companies do not have the data they need to make informed decisions,” said Prof Dave Pearson, Star Refrigeration’s group sustainable development director, commenting on the findings. The company’s analysis suggests that heat often receives less attention than electricity in corporate energy strategies and policy frameworks, which can slow investment in low‑carbon industrial heat pumps and recovery technologies.

Technical capability, Star argues, is not the primary barrier. Many respondents reported hot water demands in the 50°C–70°C range, temperatures that modern industrial heat pumps can already meet. Nearly half said they step steam down to hot water for processes, a practice that can signal inefficiency and that could often be improved through heat recovery or hybrid systems, but such changes typically require detailed data on heat flows and demand.

“The UK has the engineering capability to deploy heat pumps and recovery systems at scale. But the first barrier is not technology. It is knowing where and how energy is used across business operations,” Prof Pearson said. Star’s survey also found a clear link between metering and action: among organisations with heat sub‑metering, 80% said they were interested in energy optimisation measures and all reported interest in heat recovery technologies.

Star Refrigeration launched the survey as part of a wider push to accelerate industrial progress toward Net Zero and to inform the development of sector‑specific heat pump packages, the company said. It points to its own technology and service offers as part of the response, including heat pump systems capable of capturing and reusing waste energy and its Ethos energy management system, which combines engineering expertise with AI and advanced algorithms to support monitoring and optimisation.

The company has recently highlighted its credentials in the field: Star said it was named Manufacturer of the Year (£25m+) at the Made in Scotland Awards 2025 and has been shortlisted for other industry honours, reflecting work on natural refrigerant systems, district heat pump projects and novel applications such as barge‑mounted and steam‑generating heat pumps. Star also states it has achieved ISO 14001:2015 certification for environmental management, positioning the firm as a partner for industrial customers seeking verified sustainability credentials.

The survey’s findings underline both an immediate efficiency opportunity and a broader policy challenge for industrial decarbonisation. Industry data shows that without basic sub‑metering and heat‑use accounting, operators will struggle to prioritise investments or to make the business case for electrification of heat through heat pumps or the deployment of heat recovery systems. In that context, the company argues, relatively modest improvements in data visibility could unlock sizeable reductions in fuel use and carbon emissions.

For practitioners involved in industrial decarbonisation the message is pragmatic: improving measurement and control of heat should be treated as a first‑order priority alongside technology trials. With many existing process temperatures within the capability of modern heat pumps and with a growing suite of digital optimisation tools, the pathway to lower‑carbon industrial heat appears feasible, but it begins with visibility.