A primary barrier to widespread heat pump adoption in the UK remains consumer friction surrounding system sizing, operational efficiency, and aftersales technical support. Standard Large Language Models (LLMs) often hallucinate heating parameters by scraping unverified forum data, while heating engineers face lengthy hold times for diagnostic support. By embedding specialist domain expertise directly into a trained AI conversational agent paired with IoT hardware telemetry, such as Planet Devices’ Atmo controller, homeowners and installers can run automated weather compensation, perform remote commissioning, and access model-specific fault diagnostics. This hardware-integrated approach to renewable energy guidance reduces unnecessary field engineer dispatch, provides real-time COP visibility, and enables scalable white-label customer support for OEM manufacturers and heating contractors.
A brief description of the company and its activities.
Energy Donkey is an independent renewable energy advice and support platform, created to make choosing, buying, understanding and using low-carbon technology simpler.
The renewable energy market can be difficult to navigate, particularly for homeowners who are unfamiliar with the technology. Technical language, conflicting advice and a lack of clear information can make it challenging to understand which products are suitable, what they should cost and how they will perform in a real home. Energy Donkey brings this information together in one accessible place, providing straightforward, impartial guidance without the jargon.
The platform initially focuses on heat pumps, helping homeowners explore their options, compare suitable products and make more informed decisions. However, the long-term roadmap is much broader: Energy Donkey is being developed to support a growing range of renewable and energy-efficient technologies, including solar and EV charging, giving consumers a trusted place throughout their transition to a lower-carbon home.
The brain behind the Donkey is Graham Hendra, one of the UK’s leading heat pump experts. Graham brings decades of experience in the heating and renewable energy industries, alongside practical knowledge gained from working directly with heat pump technology, installers and homeowners. His expertise underpins Energy Donkey’s advice, ensuring the platform’s guidance is technically informed while remaining clear, impartial and approachable.
Energy Donkey’s technology is powered by Planet Devices, whose connected technology and data capabilities enable the platform to deliver intelligent, practical support. This combination of specialist industry knowledge and smart technology allows Energy Donkey to translate complex and personalised information into useful guidance that people can understand and act upon.
For existing heat pump owners, when paired with Planet Devices’ Atmo, Energy Donkey can provide live performance data, personalised insights and intelligent controls. It can help identify potential issues before they become more serious and support the optimisation of the unit’s operation. Installers can also benefit from remote commissioning assistance, technical guidance and faster fault-finding, helping to reduce unnecessary site visits and improve ongoing customer support.
As a result, Energy Donkey is also being developed as a white-label service, allowing businesses operating within the renewable energy sector to host the software on their own websites, fully adapted to their branding, giving customers immediate access to expert, consistent guidance. The service can help businesses answer common questions, support product selection and simplify parts of the customer’s overall journey, both pre and post-sale. This has the potential to reduce repetitive enquiries, ease pressure on internal teams and improve operational efficiency while maintaining a seamless branded experience for the customer.
At its core, Energy Donkey is about removing uncertainty from renewable technology. It combines Graham’s specialist knowledge, Planet Devices’ technology and a refreshingly approachable identity to help homeowners understand their options, feel confident in their decisions and get more from the systems they install.
What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Energy Donkey’s activities fall into four main areas: consumer guidance, product discovery, connected system support and software solutions for businesses.
Consumer guidance centres on supporting homeowners at every stage of their renewable energy journey. This ranges from initial research and understanding terminology to ongoing guidance, system management and support after installation.
Product discovery helps users identify and explore suitable technologies, products and services. Energy Donkey makes complex product information easier to understand, enabling consumers to compare their options and approach purchasing decisions with greater confidence.
Connected system support is delivered through Atmo. The device provides visibility of live heat pump performance, enabling personalised insights, intelligent controls and earlier identification of potential issues. The same data can support installers with remote commissioning, diagnostics and fault-finding, helping them deliver effective aftercare while reducing avoidable site visits.
The fourth area is the development of white-label software for renewable energy businesses. Companies will be able to host Energy Donkey’s capabilities on their own websites, tailored to their branding, product offering and customer requirements. The software can handle frequently asked questions, assist with product selection and provide consistent technical information, improving operational efficiency across sales, customer service and technical support.
What’s the news about new products?
Energy Donkey officially launched on Monday, 7 September 2026. The initial release gives users free access to the software, with the option to subscribe on a monthly basis at a later date.
The response was immediate: within its first 24 hours, Energy Donkey welcomed hundreds of users, answered hundreds of questions and burned through millions of AI tokens. It was a strong start that demonstrated a clear demand for accessible, expert-led renewable energy guidance.
What are the ranges of products?
Energy Donkey offers three service tiers: Knowledge, Connect and Control. Each tier allows customers to choose the level of guidance and system support that best suits their needs. Customers can also select a monthly allowance of 100, 250 or 500 “carrots”, which is what the donkey is fed before answering each question.
The Knowledge tier provides access to the Energy Donkey chat service, guidance from one renewable energy expert and general renewable energy information. It is aimed at customers who want trusted answers and expert support without connecting a device. The Knowledge tier costs £7 per month for 100 carrots, £10 for 250 or £15 for 500.
The Connect tier includes everything within Knowledge, with the addition of live heat pump connectivity and fault diagnosis. Customers can connect their system using an Atmo device, giving Energy Donkey access to its performance data and enabling more personalised, system-specific information and insights. Connect costs £12 per month for 100 carrots, £15 for 250 or £20 for 500.
The most comprehensive option is Control, which includes all Knowledge and Connect features alongside timers and scheduling, automated commands and eligibility for full commissioning support. This tier is designed for customers who want greater visibility and control over the day-to-day operation of their heat pump. Control costs £15 per month for 100 carrots, £20 for 250 or £25 for 500, and also requires an Atmo device.
This tiered structure allows customers to pay for the level of assistance and usage they need, whether they simply want reliable information or more advanced, connected management of their heat pump.
Energy Donkey also offers customers the option to purchase top-up carrots should they run out before their monthly allowance refreshes. Top-up carrots are priced at: £3 for 100, £7.50 for 250 and £15 for 500.
At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
The UK heat pump market is growing rapidly, but it remains at a relatively early stage of development. More than 60,000 MCS-certified heat pumps were installed in 2025 which is the highest annual total recorded.
More recently, UK Government figures showed that a record-breaking 8,150 households applied to install a heat pump through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in July 2026. This represented an 81% increase compared with June and more than double the number of applications received in July 2025, demonstrating that consumer interest is continuing to accelerate.
Government support is helping to reduce the upfront cost of installation, but cost is only one part of the challenge. Consumer understanding, trust and confidence remain significant barriers to wider adoption, and many homeowners still find the technology and purchasing process difficult to navigate. Government-backed research has specifically identified consumer trust and confidence as a key obstacle to heat pump deployment.
The market therefore has strong momentum, but there is a clear need for better education and a more joined-up customer experience. Consumers need straightforward advice before making a purchase, confidence that they are choosing an appropriate system and reliable support once it has been installed. At the same time, installers are managing growing demand while facing pressure to provide commissioning, fault-finding and ongoing customer support efficiently.
This creates a strong opportunity for Energy Donkey. As installations increase, the industry needs solutions that can improve understanding, build trust and support both consumers and professionals throughout the system’s lifetime and not just simply at the point of sale.
What can you tell us about market trends?
One of the clearest trends is a shift from selling renewable energy equipment as a standalone product towards providing a complete, long-term service. Customers increasingly expect support before, during and after installation, rather than being left to understand and manage unfamiliar technology themselves.
There is also greater emphasis on real-world performance. It is no longer enough for a system to just be installed and switched on; homeowners want to know whether it is operating efficiently, how much energy it is using and whether adjustments could improve comfort or reduce running costs. This is increasing the importance of connected monitoring, intelligent controls and data-led optimisation.
For installers, remote diagnostics and proactive maintenance are becoming more valuable. Access to live system data can allow potential faults to be identified earlier and some issues to be resolved without a site visit. This improves customer service while helping businesses manage their time, technical resources and growing installed base more effectively.
The market is also moving towards a more connected, whole-home approach. Heat pumps are increasingly considered alongside solar PV, battery storage, smart meters, tariffs and other energy technologies. As these systems become more closely integrated, customers will need a simple way to understand how everything works together.
Finally, artificial intelligence is beginning to change how renewable energy advice and support are delivered. Businesses are exploring how expert knowledge can be made available instantly and at scale, providing consistent answers to routine questions while allowing human specialists to focus on cases that genuinely require their expertise. This combination of human knowledge, AI and connected system data is likely to become an important part of the industry’s next phase.
What are the most innovative products marketed?
Energy Donkey’s most innovative service is the combination of expert-led artificial intelligence with live heat pump data. While a conventional chatbot can provide general information, Energy Donkey is built around the knowledge and experience of leading heat pump expert Graham Hendra, enabling it to deliver clear, impartial and technically informed guidance in an accessible way.
When paired with Planet Devices’ Atmo technology, the service becomes specific to the customer’s own heat pump. It can access real-time performance data, identify potential faults and provide insights based on how the system is actually operating. At the Control level, it can also command the heat pump, manage timers and schedules, and support commissioning.
The white-label version is another important innovation. It enables renewable energy businesses to embed the technology within their own websites and tailor it to their brand, products and customers. This gives businesses a scalable digital expert capable of answering questions, supporting customers and using connected system data around the clock while allowing their human teams to concentrate on more complex work.
What estimations do you have for the Second half of 2026?
For the remainder of 2026, we fully expect Energy Donkey’s user base to continue growing as awareness of the platform increases. The hundreds of users and questions recorded within the first 24 hours gave us an encouraging early indication of demand.
Our immediate focus is on learning from how people use the service, expanding its knowledge and refining the customer experience ahead of introducing monthly subscriptions. We also expect to further develop the rollout of Atmo-connected features and expand white-label opportunities for businesses across the renewable energy sector.
By the end of the year, we aim to have established Energy Donkey as a trusted source of heat pump guidance while laying the foundations for additional experts, technologies and renewable energy categories to be introduced in 2027.
