Chirpy Heat brings sector leading knowledge and experience
Chirpy came in to being from our direct experience of trying to tackle communal heating from inside housing providers. Between us we have over 50 years experience of coming up with the solutions to make communal scheme deliver on their promises and to create heating systems that are financially viable, deliver great service and provide affordable and reliable heat for customers.
This means we understand the opportunities and the limitations that exist for housing providers – the financial constraints, the challenges of getting internal buy in and delivery, and of course meeting the needs of customers and the wider corporate objectives.
Above all we come from the perspective of the housing provider and ensure that our approach and solutions reflect the needs of the client. The Chirpy team includes experts on the technical issues, schemes and asset management, procurement, scheme finances and staff and customer engagement.
Meet the Leadership Team
Will Routh
Director and Co-Founder
Details
Will has worked in social housing sustainability for 15 years, including 10 years as Head of Sustainability at large social housing provider where he was responsible for direct management of heat network portfolio of over 4000 properties
In 2019, he co-founded Chirpy Heat to provide independent and impartial advice to housing providers to deliver great heat networks and fulfil their promises to be low cost, low carbon and easy to manage. Over the last 3 years they have advised over 50 housing providers with over 2,000 heat networks, representing more than 65,000 properties, helping clients with every type of management issue they have on heat networks ranging from compliance, cost, customers, contracts, capability and carbon.
His wider work in the sector includes co-founding The Heat Network, a best practice sharing and lobbying group heat networks in social housing, co-creating The Heat Exchanger mentoring programme to help improve skills, professionalism and learning in the developing heat network sector and he is currently an advisory group member for BEIS’ Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES) programme.
Rachael Mills
Director and Co-Founder
Details
Rachael has worked in the sustainability sector for over twenty-five years. She co-founded SE2 in 2004, a small consultancy that brings together stakeholders to develop policies, strategies, guidance and practices to transform and decarbonise our energy system.
Through 2016-2019, Rachael worked within the Sustainability Team at Southern Housing, specifically focused on improving their new and existing communal heating schemes and processes, including efficiency analysis, tariff setting, customer communications and internal stakeholder liaison.
For a number of years, Rachael has also been closely linked into the heating sector through her work with the Association for Decentralised Energy (for whom she is also a Non-Exec Director), HNDU, HNIP, and various local authority networks.
Nicholas Doyle
Director and Co-Founder
Details
Nicholas is a Director and Co-founder of Chirpy Heat. He has worked in housing for over thirty years and has been responsible for a wide range of award-winning housing, energy and environmental initiatives nationally and internationally that includes new developments, existing communities, corporate action and national research.
Previously he was a Project Director at Places for People, one of the UK’s largest property management and development companies and a non-executive Director of Viridian Solar, the National Communities Resource Centre and is currently a Non-Executive Director Lincolnshire Rural Housing Association.
He has a passion for making housing the best it can be for both providers and customers. A key part of this is driving improvement in the development and management of heat networks so that they deliver on their promise of providing low cost, low carbon and reliable heating.
