Gareth Hurford named best heating installer in South West

Gareth Hurford, who runs Hurfords Heating Ltd in Fordingbridge, received the 2026 title as part of the nationwide Heating Installer Awards.

He won the honour for his work on a Grade II listed property, which involved a full re-plumb, the installation of a heat pump, underfloor heating, and radiators.

Gareth Hurford has been announced as the top heating installer in the South West by judges from the industry-leading Heating Installer Awards 2026. (Image: Refresh PR)

Mr Hurford said: "This project stands out because of the level of technical planning, heritage-sensitive materials and complex heat loss calculations required to make the system perform effectively.

"The finished system provides my customer with efficient, future-proof heating while respecting the historic fabric of the property, which was the primary objective of the installation."

Based in the New Forest, Hurfords Heating serves customers across Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire.

The Heating Installer Awards were established over 11 years ago to raise the credibility and celebrate the achievements of the best installers across the UK.

Entries were judged by representatives from scheme sponsors and industry bodies including Danfoss, Powered Now, Samsung Climate Solutions, Stelrad, InstallerSHOW, and previous winners.

The overall UK winner will be decided partly by public vote, with national voting now open on the Heating Installer Awards website.

Voting closes at midnight on May 28.

The winners will be announced on June 24 at InstallerSHOW, taking place at Birmingham NEC.

Did you know you can make the Bournemouth Echo your preferred source of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole news in Google?

This means more breaking news and the latest must-read stories from your area.

Here’s what it means for you and how you can do it. 

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/26003805.local-newsquest-title-preferred-source/