CLEAR-HP

Independent consumer organisations from Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain, led by BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation, have partnered with the International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT) and with the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) to run CLEAR-HP.

Further information on each partner is available below:

Altroconsumo

Set up in 1973, Altroconsumo is the most influential consumers organisation in Italy.  Its strength comes from more than 314,000 subscribers (2022) that make AC free and independent. The mission of Altroconsumo is to protect and promote consumers rights by a set of different activities, mainly: products testing, inquiries, news drafting, enforcement activities and legal actions and personalised advice. Altroconsumo is a member of Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT) and it is represented through the association at the National Consumers Council, in Consumers International and BEUC executive board. AE developed several EU projects to boost energy efficiency and circular economy.

BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation

BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation, is a Brussels-based umbrella group of 45 independent national consumer organisations from 31 European countries. BEUC was created to promote, defend and represent the interests of European consumers in the elaboration and implementation of EU policies.
BEUC has dedicated policy and communications teams advocating for a regulatory environment which protects consumers in energy markets across Europe. BEUC is the coordinator of the project.

Българска национална асоциация “Активни потребители” (BNAAC)

BNAAC is an independent NGO which protects Bulgarian consumer interests.
It has three branches and nine information and advice centres in the cities of Bulgaria. The organisation provides information and assistance to consumers, including through its magazine ACTIVE CONSUMERS, lobbies policymakers so that legislation represents consumers’ interests and conducts comparative testing and research.
BNAAC has over two decades of experience in providing trainings for experts and stakeholders in consumer protection and sustainable energy.

DECO PROTeste

DECO PROTeste’s audience includes in 2022 more than 345,000 (2022) households as members of DECO. DECO PROTeste acts independently with public and private entities guided only by the defense of citizens’ rights. DECO PROTeste is the largest Portuguese organization for the defense and representation of all consumers and its main values are independence, credibility and proximity. DECO PROTeste develops its activity so that consumers know better and more extensively their rights and have access to accurate and clear information, without promotional or ideological biases. DECO PROTeste’s action is based on extensive technical, scientific and political work, allowing us to present and deliver real solutions to real problems. It is a member of ICRT and through its association is represented in Consumers International, Anec, Beuc executive baord .

EHPA (European Heat Pump Association)

The European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) is the voice of the European heat pump sector in Brussels. They work to shape EU policy that allows the heat pump sector to flourish, and heat pumps to become the number one heating and cooling choice by 2030. EHPA advocates, communicates and provides expert policy, technical and economic input to European, national and local authorities, and to their members.  EHPA organises high-level events and manages or partner in multiple EU projects similar to CLEAR-HP. Their nearly 200 members, present in countries all over Europe, include heat pump and component manufacturers, research institutes, universities, testing labs and energy agencies.

International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT)

International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT) is a global consortium of consumer organisations that collaborate on research and testing of consumer products and services. ICRT is a not-for-profit organisation fully owned by its members. As such it is independent of product manufacturers, and acts exclusively in the interest of the consumer. ICRT enables consumer organisations worldwide to co-operate in providing high-quality and independent information on products and services, thus helping consumers make smart choices in increasingly complex markets. ICRT has 37 members that represent the interests of consumers in 34 countries worldwide, with the potential to reach more than 25m consumers through the publications of our member organisations.

Organización de consumidores y usuarios – OCU

First established in 1975, OCU is the oldest consumer organisation in Spain. In 2022 it had more than 300,000 members who have access to a range of general publications and issue-specific magazines on health and personal finances. OCU also provides personalised advice services and carries out advocacy actions to further the interests of all consumers at the national, European and global levels. It is a member of ICRT and through its association is represented in Consumers International and Beuc executive board.

Spoločnosť ochrany spotrebiteľov (S.O.S.)

SOS is a Slovak consumer organisation which provides advice to consumers and dispute resolution for consumer complaints. It was established in 2011 and runs four consumer advice centres in Slovakia, providing professional counselling and practical help particularly to vulnerable people.
SOS also organises educational seminars and trainings for consumers, traders and SMEs and has a long history in publishing manuals and publications for consumers, traders and other groups. SOS is an active member in different policy groups for national implementation of EU legislation for general consumer rights and ADR, energy,  digital and collective redress. .

Testachats/Testaankoop

The Belgian consumer organisation - Testachats in French, Testaankoop in Dutch - is an independent organisation defending the interests of consumers in Belgium since 1957. Testachats is the main interlocutor with the Belgian authorities on matters affecting the protection of the consumer. Testachats is fully funded by its 330,000 members (2022)  who subscribe to its magazines and services. Testachats is a member of the Executive Board of BEUC, CI (Consumers International) as well as ICRT (International Consumer Research and Testing).

Zveza potrošnikov Slovenije (ZPS)

ZPS – Slovene Consumers’ Association is a non-profit, independent non-government membership consumer organisation established in 1990 to defend, promote and advocate for the interests of consumers. ZPS acts as the champion of the individual consumer, through advice and information, research and advocacy, campaigning and policymaking and represents Slovenian consumers nationally and internationally. Its most powerful tool is the independent consumer magazine ZPStest. ZPS is a member of the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) and is a member of its Executive Board. ZPS is also an active member of the European Consumer Voice in Standardization (ANEC), the International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT) and Consumers International (CI).

CLEAR-HP aims to facilitate consumers’ access to heat pumps by accompanying them throughout the whole purchasing journey, and by addressing financial and regulatory barriers. The project partners aim to promote consumer awareness and empower them to lead the clean energy transition, improving the energy performance and comfort of their homes, and reducing their energy bills. This will be done by:

• Providing information to consumers on the availability, quality and suitability of heat pump products for their homes.

• Analysing and identifying available financing opportunities for consumers and addressing gaps with national authorities, to improve consumers’ access to heat pump technologies.

• Exploring and developing partnerships with heat pump suppliers and installers at national and European level.

• Launching collective purchase schemes based on ‘purchase and install’ packages which ensure the quality of the product offered and simplify the purchasing process for consumers, as well as offering consumers ongoing advice and support.

• Up-skilling installers of heat pumps in what consumers need to know.

• Communicating to consumers the general benefits of heat pumps versus traditional technologies to encourage new and future investments and interest.

Collective purchase campaigns

Collective purchase campaigns are a central aspect of the CLEAR-HP project, aiming to overcome the main barriers stopping consumers from investing in RES and EE technologies (e.g. high upfront investment costs, inconvenience, lack of trust, etc) by organising collective purchase schemes.

How will we do it? There are different steps:

STEP 1 - We will test a selection of heat pump products and identify the best product in the market for consumers in the target countries;

STEP 2 - We will identify manufacturers and/or suppliers to ensure a good package deal for the consumers, including full installation of the product and after-sales guarantees;

STEP 3 - We will inform the consumers of the possibility to join a group purchase for a specific product. This will be done through communication campaigns for each group purchase.

Capacity building for consumers

To ensure that consumers receive the necessary guidance on the purchase and installation process of heat pumps, including energy advice, support in applying to available national fundings, etc., national consumer organisations will organise workshops to the consumers who registered to the Collective purchase campaign. This is a necessary step to understand the level of heat-pump readiness of the consumers’ household.

Capacity building for heat pump installers

To ensure the quality of the installation procedures, national consumer organisations will collaborate with one of the project partners, EHPA, to understand the training needs of installers at national level and thus provide installers with useful guidelines and training.

CLEAR-HP will engage at least 43,000 consumers in collective purchase campaigns across seven countries and will trigger €3.5m of new investments in renewables technologies, 2 GWh of primary energy savings, and reductions of 639 tCO2,-eq GHG emissions within the project duration alone.