GLEN DIMPLEX group has signed an agreement with utility provider Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to develop and distribute low carbon energy systems.

The Irish-owned Glen Dimplex, the world’s largest electrical heating business, and SSE, which has five million electricity supply customers in the UK, plan to work together to develop energy-efficient systems for storing energy from the electricity grid for use during periods of peak demand.

The two companies said they would also invest in the manufacture of new heating products such as heat pumps that can maximise the use of zero-carbon electricity when it is available, using technologies such as wind and solar photovoltaics.

SSE chief executive Ian Marchant said the partnership was about combining technologies and systems in order to create an era of “smart heat” through renewable energy.

“The transition to a low carbon energy system is already under way and electricity produced from renewable sources is at its heart,” Mr Marchant said.

Glen Dimplex chief executive Seán O’Driscoll said the agreement would ensure that the company’s heat pump technology would develop in alignment with the needs of homeowners and utility companies.

Appliance manufacturer Glen Dimplex was founded by its chairman Martin Naughton, one of Ireland’s richest men.