Stuart Sugden from Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, has been announced as the Best Heating Installer in Scotland by judges from the industry-leading Heating Installer Awards 2025.
Winner Stuart specialises in installations for both retrofit and new build houses, including small commercial locations too, with his company Sugplumb Ltd.
Stuart’s winning entry featured the installation of a ground source heat pump in a 300-year-old stone-built farmhouse in rural Scotland. A challenging but rewarding project, it involved balancing modern renewable heating technology with the constraints of a historically significant building. Stuart delivered a high-quality, future-proofed heating solution for his customer.
Speaking of Stuart’s win, his customer said: “Stuart was genuinely really good; he worked so hard and came back to sort out any tweaks straight away. He went through everything in detail which helped us. Stuart made sure everything was clean and tidy at all times and I know is always there to help if needed.”
The nationwide awards scheme, now in its tenth year, recognises the achievements and raises the credibility of plumbers and heating installers across the country who deliver excellent customer service on a daily basis. Representatives from the awards’ partners and sponsors CIPHE, The IPG, Polypipe Building Products, Refresh, Samsung Climate Solutions, Stelrad and Powered Now, as well as a team of previous winning installers, judged the entries on problem solving, product knowledge and stand out work.
To mark its tenth anniversary, the award’s organisers have appointed a brand-new Board of Trustees, making it the only awards scheme in the industry that is run and judged by installers themselves. Each trustee will be heavily involved in the judging of the categories relevant to their individual areas of expertise.
Trustees include previous winners: Phil Metcalf of Metcalf Cooling and Heating Services, Huw Jenkins of Thornhill Plumbing and Heating, Nick Irlam of Irlam UK, Rising Star Winner Carl Ladd, and CIPHE member Karen Matthews of Mayfly Group.
Voting closes at midnight on 27th May 2025. Public votes will contribute to a quarter of the installer’s overall scores, and will be added to the judges’ scores and the scores from a technical challenge set for all of the regional and highly commended winners.
The winners will be announced on 25th June 2025 at InstallerSHOW, taking place at Birmingham NEC.
