Drones employed for ‘net zero’ home blueprints to save cash and carbon
- Drones will take thermal images to help create ‘heat pump ready’ roadmaps for customers
- EDF Research & Development team will lead the project, working with AI startup Kestrix
- Poor insulation means that currently 12% of willing heat pump customers are unable to have one installed
EDF is to trial drone technology, AI and analytics which will provide customers with a blueprint and steps required to turn their home into a net zero property.
Currently 12% of customers starting their heat pump journey with EDF are unable to proceed due to inadequate levels of home insulation. One of the key goals of the Sojourner project is address this issue. Customers will be provided with a fully personalised roadmap to net zero, showing recommended actions, such as loft and wall cavity insulation needed to increase home suitability for heat pump installation.
A drone takes a thermal image of the property and utilising cutting edge AI as well as analytics, combines smart meter and local weather data and the EPC rating to produce a visual tool. This acts as a homeowner’s guide, providing recommended actions, step by step advice, pricing, funding options as well as recommended contractors to complete the work.
Starting in January with over 500 customers, the trial will minimise pre-heat-pump-install visits, reducing both costs and time for residents. It will also streamline the heat pump installation process, helping the customer save cash and carbon quicker and accelerates the country's progress towards net zero goals.
EDF’s Research and Development team (R&D) is leading the project, developing the technology in collaboration with Kestrix, while funding is backed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
Patrick Dupeyrat, R&D director at EDF, said: “We need to do all we can to make heat pumps as accessible as possible for our customers because we know an air source heat pump can be over 300% more efficient than a standard gas boiler, potentially saving you money on your heating bills.
“This trial will look at ways to remove obstacles on a timeline which works for customers, so they are ready to act when the time comes to replace their boiler. This minimises pre-heat pump install visits, reducing customer cost and streamlines the process and once again shows our commitment to help customers save cash and carbon.”
Lucy Lyons, CEO at Kestrix, said: "The consortium is greater than the sum of its parts – by blending innovation in resident engagement, financing, and product offering, it makes the path to heat pump readiness clear, engaging, and digitised for the first time, democratising access to information and facilitating a faster transition to net zero homes in the UK."
EDF is already acting on price, after launching the UK’s first heat pump tariff to never charge customers more than the Ofgem price cap on standard tariffs. The Heat Pump Tracker tariff is available to new and existing customers with any heat pump technology.
Designed to help customers save cash and carbon, the tariff offers six hours of discounted zero carbon electricity every day. With two off-peak windows from 4am – 7am and 1pm – 4pm, customers can shift their consumption without the burden of any peak rates.
The Heat Pump and Power Tracker bundle, available for a limited time via EDF Heat Pumps, also offers new customers ‘free electricity’ for the month of December 2025 alongside a 7-year warranty and service package, worth more than £1,500[1].
The energy provider has also recently linked up with Octopus to launch ‘Electrify Britain’, a partnership dedicated to significantly reducing energy bills, reducing climate emissions and driving economic growth through replacing gas, diesel and petrol with widespread electrification. One of the priorities for the partnership is to electrify home heat.
Click here for more information about how heat pumps can help customers save cash and carbon.
[1] This includes the Ideal Heating £1,150 maintenance and service plan, £164 typical annual customer saving versus the current single-rate price cap tariff, and free electricity for the whole of December 2025 which amounts to £200.
About EDF
EDF is driving the transition towards An Electric Britain – a secure, affordable, low-carbon future for everyone. As Britain’s biggest generator of zero carbon electricity, we are investing more than £100 million weekly in Britain’s electricity infrastructure. We supply millions of customers with electricity and help homes and businesses switch to electricity for heating, transport and industrial processes.
We operate five nuclear power stations and more than 35 onshore wind farms and three offshore wind farms. Since 2009, EDF has invested almost £9 billion in the nuclear fleet to improve reliability and extend station lifetimes. The five generating stations currently supply about 12% of the UK’s electricity demand.
EDF is building the UK's nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C. We are a minority investor (12.5%) in and major supplier to a replica plant at Sizewell C in Suffolk. Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will provide low carbon electricity to meet 14% of UK demand and power around 12 million homes. EDF Group companies Framatome and Arabelle Solutions have a presence in the UK and manufacture critical equipment such as reactor pressure vessels and turbines.
EDF is enabling its 5 million customers, both in business and at home, to choose electric solutions that save cash and carbon, whether it is buying an electric car, generating and storing electricity, selling energy back to the grid or installing solar panels or a heat pump. In 2025, EDF’s Customers business was ranked as one of the Sunday Times’s Best Place to Work.
It is also one of the UK’s leading developers of renewable energy through EDF power solutions UK and Ireland. We have more than 2GW of renewable generation in operation and over 10GW in construction, planning and development across a range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar and battery storage.
We are one of the largest suppliers to British business and a leading supplier of innovative energy solutions that are helping businesses become more energy independent. In addition, the company’s energy services business, Dalkia, one of the UK and Ireland’s largest technical service providers.
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