Episoder
-
Send us a text
Welcome back to the show! In this episode, I'm joined by a good friend and expert in the renewable energy sector, Ken Bone from Ultimate Renewables Supplies. Ken and I dive deep into a topic that's crucial for efficient heating and the future of low-carbon homes: weather compensated heating systems.
One of the key points we explore is the apparent lack of understanding within the installer base regarding weather compensation. It's surprising, considering that condensing boilers – mandated way back in 2005 – operate much more efficiently when paired with this intelligent control strategy.
But is it fair to point the finger solely at installers? We discuss why it's arguably not their fault. Ken and I explore the possibility that industry associations haven't adequately championed and educated on the benefits of weather compensation. This lack of widespread promotion has left many installers unfamiliar with its implementation and advantages.
Our conversation then shifts to the burgeoning heat pump market. Are heat pump manufacturers doing enough to provide user-friendly and effective controls, both for the installer during setup and for the homeowner in their daily use? We examine the current landscape and consider areas for improvement.
I also share a bit about the history of the control industry, where the ideal scenario pushed by control manufacturers for many has been individual room-by-room control. However, as Ken astutely points out, this level of granular control is often unnecessary and can overcomplicate things.
We also touch on a fascinating aspect of the UK heating market: the observation that certain manufacturers are utilizing the same Chinese OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for their products. This raises questions about differentiation and the potential for shared underlying technology.
A central theme of our discussion revolves around whether these OEMs could produce better weather compensation controls that also incorporate room influence. Can we achieve the best of both worlds – the efficiency of weather compensation fine-tuned by individual room temperature feedback?
Towards the end of the episode, we briefly touch upon the important topics of grid flexibility and demand-side response. We discuss how a better understanding and wider adoption of weather compensation by installers could significantly ease the transition to heat pumps and contribute to a more flexible and efficient energy system.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone involved in the heating industry, from installers and manufacturers to homeowners interested in optimising their heating systems and understanding the future of home comfort. Join Ken and me as we unravel the mysteries and potential of weather compensated heating!
This season is sponsored by Primary Pro, a professional pipe insulation system
Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
In this eye-opening episode, we delve into the contrasting approaches to water treatment in European domestic heating systems for corrosion prevention. While the UK predominantly champions chemical inhibitor solutions under the EN BS 7593 standard, many European nations embrace a wider range of methods. Surprisingly, some UK chemical inhibitor manufacturers who exclusively promote their products domestically readily offer non-chemical alternatives on the continent. Host Nathan interviews Ricky Prescott from Thoroughflush, who sheds light on the shortcomings of the BS 7593 standard. Ricky argues that manufacturers of chemical inhibitors often fail to provide sufficient information to accurately test heating systems and determine if adequate inhibitor levels are present. Adding to the complexity, while some of the UK's leading heating engineers favor the German VDI 2035 standard, the chemical water treatment group within the Heating and Hot Water Industry Council (HHIC) appears resistant to discussing or acknowledging these alternative European approaches.
This season is being sponsored by PrimaryPro a professional pipe insulation system
Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Manglende episoder?
-
Send us a text
Ever wondered what connects the discipline of a three-time Oxford-Cambridge boat race rower with the intricacies of sustainable architecture and the practicalities of installing heat pumps? This week, Nathan Gambling sits down with Henry Pelly, an extraordinary individual who seamlessly blends these worlds.
Our guest is a Principal Sustainability Consultant at the renowned Max Fordham, a qualified architect holding Masters degrees in Environmental Design and Environmental Psychology – a powerful combination for understanding how buildings impact both our planet and our well-being.
We explore his fascinating career journey, which has recently taken an exciting turn with the launch of his own MCS installation company, focused on bringing efficient and eco-friendly air-to-water and air-to-air heat pump systems to domestic properties.
Discover Henry's incredible past representing Great Britain in rowing, the demands of building a wedding venue, and the heartwarming chaos of family life with three young daughters. Join us for a captivating conversation that proves passion and expertise can truly span diverse and impactful fields.
This season is sponsored by Primary Pro, a professional pipe insulation system
Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Ever wondered how heat pump systems differ between the UK and the US? In this episode, Nathan chats with Shreyas Sudhakar, a leading heat pump installer and educator from California, to explore the contrasting approaches. Nathan, who has fond memories of his time in America, and his apprenticeship on a US airbase in the UK, emphasises the strong connection he feels to the country. He and Shreyas engage in a fun discussion, highlighting the strengths of both systems and gently suggesting areas where US installations might benefit from UK insights. They both strongly believe that sharing knowledge and best practices is key to maximising heat pump efficiency and sustainability. Join us for a conversation that celebrates innovation and the potential for transatlantic collaboration!
This season is sponsored by Primary Pro a professional outdoor pipe insulation system used by top engineers in the UK
Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Damon Blackmore is a massive favourite among other competent heat pump installation engineers.
He uses social media to help other heating engineers become interested in heat pump systems and has some of the highest performing heat pumps in the country.
Unfortunately, the voices of good engineers are being drowned out by the comms pieces from much larger entities involved in the sector.
Take a listen to someone actually at the coal face of industry...day in day out.
This episode is sponsored by Primary Pro a professional pipe insulation system used by Damon and other great engineers.
Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Nathan chats to Adam Bell, Director of Policy at Stonehaven about:
Ofgem and the recent findings from Citizens AdviceThe CfD (Contracts for Difference) consultation the report from the National Infrastructure Commission's - Electricity Distribution Networks: Creating capacity for the future PylonsMCSYou can find Adam on Linkedin and his blog site Unbalancing Mechanism
Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Heat pump owners around the UK have joined the Nesta scheme whereby they allow visitors to come visit them and ask questions about their heating system.
Nathan chats to Codrina Cretu and Andy Marsden about the benefits of this free scheme to people thinking of having a heat pump as well as the benefits to installation engineers who can use it as a marketing tool.
Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Episode 3 of the Heat Pump Ready programme.
Nathan chats to
Ian Rose arPassiv UK,
Casey Cole at Guru,
and Mark Lufkin at Wondrwall
Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Nathan talks with Katrina from Energy Systems Catapult and Trysten Lee from Open Energy Monitor about a key question surrounding the Electrification of Heat (EoH) trial: why did the heat pumps perform so poorly? The trial, involving aprox. 740 heat pumps, showed an average Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) of just 2.81 for air source.
This contrasts sharply with the performance of heat pumps monitored by Trysten at HeatPumpMonitor.org (HPM). Interestingly, many of the installers whose systems are tracked on HPM are relatively new to the field, some with only a few years of heat pump experience. Yet, they consistently achieve high-performing heat pump installations, a stark difference from the results of the large-scale trials. This success likely stems from their adherence to the two BetaTeach principles, their approach to self-directed learning, and their use of peer-to-peer learning. They also tend to pursue different training paths, rather than relying solely on the standard 3-day BPEC and LCL Award courses.
The trial, conducted in partnership with Warmworks, OVO, and E-ON, involved 19 MCS contractors installing approximately 750 free heat pump systems. Beyond heat pump performance, the trial has provided valuable insights that are informing policy development in areas such as planning permission and Distribution Network Operator (DNO) applications.
Trystan and his team have managed to visualise the data captured from the trial at eoh.heatpumpmonitor.org
For information on the Air to Air trial and to see if you can have a free A2A heat pump system click here
This season is sponsored by PrimaryPro
Primary Pro, a pipe insulation system developed by Dave Smith, is gaining popularity among engineers for use in heat pump installations.Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery systems are discussed with Nathan's guests Duncan and Barry Sharp.
Regular listeners will know Barry from previous episodes of BetaTalk and is one of Nathan's favourite heat pump engineers based in Scotland.
Duncan is Barry's dad and has been specialising in MVHR systems since around 2010.
The discussion looks at how effective MVHR is and the problems with design, installation and commissioning.
Duncan spends a lot of his time helping others understand MVHR and is involved in surveying the systems in social housing as well as designing and installing systems.
Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Nathan interviews Mick Wall, a self-proclaimed 'heating nerd,' about his experiences with a heat pump expertly installed by Damon Blackmore, a renowned engineer. Mick's story, like those of Trystan and Glyn featured on episode 10 of BetaTalk's 10th season (who run heatpumpmonitor.org), exemplifies a fascinating shift: the rise of informed heat pump consumers. Their deep understanding around the "science of heat" surpasses that of many professionals in the industry's marketing, media, and PR sectors.
Mick's heat pump heating system is being monitored here
Mick also runs Energy Stats which tracks agile electricity prices and can be found here
Mick runs a blog and can be found on these social media sites:
https://twitter.com/Zarch1972
https://bsky.app/profile/zarch1972.bsky.socialThis is a great episode and start to a new season being sponsored by
Primary ProSupport the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Nathan chats to Iain from Edinburg Heating about his journey into heat pumps.
Iain has been using Barry at Renewable Heat (and a BetaTalk regular guest) as a mentor.
Training course are discussed as well the barriers micro-businesses face in transitioning from boilers to heat pump heating systems.
SEASON TEN IS SPONSORED BY
Ultimate Renewable SuppliesSupport the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Nathan welcomes back to the show Trystan and Glyn, the brilliant team behind heatpumpmonitor.org
BetaTalk would also like to mention the legendary John Cantor, one of the UK's first ever heat pump gurus, who has helped the team develop this wonderful learning tool
This show is PACKED with fantastic information so check out the chapter markers if you need to find specific pieces of information. But make sure you listen to the whole show...you won't want to miss this one.Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Notorious heat pump design expert Michael, from Option Energy Solutions in Brighton Sussex, comes on the show with Tom from Somerset.
VaillantViessmannGrantIdealWorcester BoschMitsubishiMidea
Tom runs Arlow Plumbing and Heating and has a team of five involved in the installation of gas and oil boilers. Tom started installing heat pumps quite a few years ago and has recently teamed up with Michael who has provided some mentorship.
The conversation naturally discussed training, one of the subjects Nathan at BetaTalk is regarded as being an expert on. The episode is more proof of how engineers are learning more from each other than perhaps the courses which are on offer.
The chat discussed recent changes proposed by DESNZ as well as discussing some of the manufacturers involved with heat pumps such as:Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
The microgeneration certification scheme (MCS) recently became aware of a non-certified business targeting and encouraging MCS installers to break scheme requirements.
We chat to Ben who has recently become MCS registered to discuss the situation along with his transitional journey into the world of heat pumps.
We also discuss a current topical: Government funded heat pump training, which Nathan argues is not working as well as it should.Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
In this podcast Nathan chats with his friends Barry from Renewable Heat and Matt from Matt Rigby Heating Ltd.
The guests and Nathan discuss Matts journey from a gas engineer to a heat pump engineer. It mentions how Barry has provided mentorship which is a far better way to help gas engineers transition than the current system of just sending them on a powerpoint course.
This season is sponsored by Ultimate Renewables SuppliesSupport the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
Nathan was kindly invited by the Heat Geek team to host a podcast at their Installer Show stand where he chatted to Adam Chapman, founder of Heat Geek and Karolis Petruskevicius the brains behind Homely
The discussion involves what is currently happening in the heat pump industry as well as Homely's heat pump optimisation tool.
Enjoy!Support the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky -
Send us a text
In this episode Nathan chats with Fiona, CEO of SNIPEF and Barry, a regular podcast guest and a Snipef member.
Snipef presented talks at the Green Homes Festival during Edinburg Festival month and Nathan discusses the talks with his guest and the potential Edinburgh has in switching to heat pumpsSupport the show
Learn more about heat pump heating by following
Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky - Vis mere
