It originated in 1906 as The Institute of Plumbers and since 1957 was known as The Institute of Plumbing (IoP). IPHE came into being on 4 June 2004 when IoP corporate members agreed that the new title better reflects their scope of work and firmly identifies plumbing and heating as an engineering discipline. The Institute was granted a Royal Charter and added the word Chartered to its title on 1 July 2008.
CIPHE has a membership of over 12,400, some 3,500 of whom are listed in a Member Directory where a local Registered Plumber can be found by simply entering a postcode. All members listed have had to prove their competence through recognised qualifications or extensive experience.
The Institute is a registered educational charity with the prime objective of improving the science, practice and principles of plumbing and heating engineering in the public interest. Its individual members support this aim and agree to a 6-point Code of Professional Standards.
The Institute is supported by some 260 of the leading manufacturers and service providers in the UK plumbing and heating industry, collectively known as Industrial Associates. Many of these also participate in the Institute's Professional Development programme that keeps members up to date with technological advances in the industry.
CIPHE works closely with the government and its agencies, industry and educational bodies in pursuit of its aims.
It is a highly respected authority on all plumbing and heating matters and is one of the world's largest professional and technical bodies serving building services engineering.
The latest Annual Report and Accounts (PDF:444Kb / 24 pages) provide a useful summary of the Institute's work and activities.
Public Perception and Engineering Reality (PDF: 53Kb / 2 pages) gives an overview of why and how IoP developed into IPHE and ultimately CIPHE.
