Heating and hot water make up 17% of the UK’s territorial greenhouse gas emissions. Crucially, the ZEB is a smart storage heater powered by grid electricity – an increasingly sustainable energy source, as the UK generates a growing amount of clean power.

As a result, the ZEB can create between 2.5 and 3 tonnes of CO2 savings a year, when replacing a gas boiler.

The ZEB’s smart features include its ability to monitor electricity tariffs. This means it can charge itself at the cheapest point of the day, or when the climate impact of doing so will be lowest (although these two are often one and the same). Peak power prices can be 300 to 400% higher than those during the least expensive part of the day, so even with electricity prices higher than gas this saving makes the ZEB cost comparative with gas.

tepeo is an expanding company, now employing 60 people. It manufactures the ZEB at its headquarters in Wokingham, Berkshire. The device can be installed by qualified plumbers after just half a day of training.