diff --git a/include/lwnode/lwnode-version.h b/include/lwnode/lwnode-version.h
index 43c33f4325..296afca10a 100644
--- a/include/lwnode/lwnode-version.h
+++ b/include/lwnode/lwnode-version.h
@@ -18,5 +18,5 @@
 
  #define LWNODE_VERSION_MAJOR 1
  #define LWNODE_VERSION_MINOR 1
- #define LWNODE_VERSION_PATCH 22
- #define LWNODE_VERSION_TAG "v1.1.22"
+ #define LWNODE_VERSION_PATCH 23
+ #define LWNODE_VERSION_TAG "v1.1.23"
diff --git a/src/api/engine.cc b/src/api/engine.cc
index 79ec26e441..b4d79974d3 100644
--- a/src/api/engine.cc
+++ b/src/api/engine.cc
@@ -353,6 +353,7 @@ bool Engine::Dispose() {
 }
 
 #define DEFAULT_GC_FREE_SPACE_DIVISOR 24
+#define DEFAULT_GC_HEAP_SIZE 1024 * 1024 * 4
 
 void Engine::initialize() {
 #ifndef NDEBUG
@@ -374,6 +375,11 @@ void Engine::initialize() {
     gcFreeSpaceDivisor = DEFAULT_GC_FREE_SPACE_DIVISOR;
   }
 
+  // Increase the heap size explicitly for performance
+  int result = GC_expand_hp(DEFAULT_GC_HEAP_SIZE);
+  LWNODE_DLOG_INFO(
+      "DEFAULT_GC_HEAP_SIZE: %d result: %d", DEFAULT_GC_HEAP_SIZE, result);
+
   Memory::setGCFrequency(gcFreeSpaceDivisor);
   gcHeap_.reset(GCHeap::create());