BetaTalk - The Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Heating Podcast

Send us a textIn this episode Nathan speaks with Adam Chapman from https://heatgeek.com/ about his experience with becoming MCS accredited. It's often heard how MCS is very complex for a heating engineer to undertake so Adam tries to help alleviate any of the mystery.Adam is finding the process enjoyable and hopefully we will see many more smaller companies and sole traders obtain MCS. However, we discuss how the green homes grant, which has driven up demand for technologies such as solar thermal heating systems and heat pumps has also created a bottleneck as installers now need to have trustmark accreditation also.You will hear Nathan and Adam discuss how a new installer may struggle to find a suitable first installation which wil be assessed by MCS because of the GHG and its attachment to trustmark.Take a listen and enjoySupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Send us a textIn this episode Nathan speaks with Adam Chapman from Vito Energy and heat geek which is an excellent resource for consumers and engineers. This episode centres around what we can do right now to our heating systems to reduce carbon emissions. Fabric First is inculcated and for obvious reasons. However, there is often something which can be done to the heating system at no cost (or for very little) and with no disruption to the customer which reduces emissions. Scale this up across the 22 to 23 million gas boilers installed and we can significantly lower carbon emissions from heatingThis episode mentions how the Energy Savings Trust (EST) conducted a survey on conventional and condensing boilers and found that they do not work at their badged up efficiencies. This suggests how energy performance certificates and energy assessors ticking a box because a boiler has A+ on it's casing is often completely irrelevant We hear Adam discuss modulation controls and thermostats, how boilers condense, priority domestic hot water (PDHW) and a host of other stuff. Support the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Send us a textIn this episode Nathan's guests myth bust heat pumps. He is joined by Bean from the Ground Source Heat Pump Association and Heat Pump Federation; Robin who is also from the GSHPA and Bill, a heat pump specialist. All 3 guests are engineers with a vast amount of knowledge with heat pump technology. Heat pumps are a recognised technology for helping the UK decarbonise heat and reach net zero. Unfortunately, there does seem to be some myths about what they can and can not do. Here are the myths around heatpumps we discussed:Inverter driven compressors are more efficient than fixed speed compressors. Bill starts us off with this one. As you will hear, inverters are efficient but again it comes down to design. Different heat pump designs and applications may benefit from fixed speed compressors. Heat Pumps are maintenance free and free energy. Kind of two myths rolled into one.Heat Pumps need to run all the time. Robin starts this one off by discussing an energy savings trust study and Bill finishes with a German study on ground loops.A high temperature heat pump can just replace a boiler. Again, you will hear, the guests discuss design. Low temperature heating is becoming more realised in the industry along with hydraulic design. Bean alludes to the new qualification the CIPHE are producing regarding this and also talks about some of the problems we find with underfloor heating (UFH) installation workHeat Pumps only work in new builds. Bean discusses how as an installer he was installing heat pump systems into grade 1 and 2 listed buildings. The topic of hybrid heat pump systems is brought up. All guests and Nathan considered the fact that boilers are not needed as back up. In district heating systems it may make sense but we can design heatpump systems to not need boilersHeat pumps only work with underfloor heating Robin discusses how some heat pump installations have been cancelled because of a notion UFH was needed for heat emitters. A problem especially in the non domestic sectorFitting a larger ground loop fixes most problems with ground source heat pumps Again we hear the importance of hydronic design and understanding pressure dropYou need a room thermostat in every room to comply with building regulations and for efficiency How do we control heat pumps and comfort. Listen to Nathan's guest talk about weather compensation and other forms of controlLow Loss Headers should be used on all heat pumps Hydronic separation, flow rates and delta t is par for the course in this chapterAll heat pumps are noisy Will heat pumps make frustrate our neighbours?Support the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Send us a textIn this episode Nathan discusses with Evergreen Energy how consumers are able to get help with the upfront cost of renewable heating technology.Evergreen Energy are an OFGEM approved investor who are able to offer consumers the chance to assign the RHI (renewable heat incentive) payments over to them in order to have a heat pump system installed at a much cheaper rate than is often considered. Listen to Helen explain how Evergreen Energy was engendered by entrepreneur Stephen Critchlow.Simon explains a little about the assignment of rights and also how their initiative helps: Installers transition into renewables within a supportive frameworkConsumers adopt low carbon technology with less costDeploy more low carbon technologyYou can find more about Evergreen Energy here: https://www.evergreenenergy.co.uk/Support the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Send us a textThe first episode of season 3 discusses the green home energy grant with renewable heating engineers Leah and  Steve and also Kathryn from the University of LancasterFor more information around this grant from the government visit the SimpleEnergy Advice website.This episode highlights how hard it can be for consumers and find out why Steve and other engineers have opted not to take part in the schemeSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Send us a textGraeme FoxHead of REFCOM - provider of F-Gas Schemes, James Baker, Renewable Heat Engineer (both land and sea) and Lisa-Jayne Cook a refrigeration engineer and along with Graham a board member of IOR Institute of Refrigeration01:00 Graham describes how REFCOM was set up to provide quality environmental standards. Very interesting how the recovery of refrigerant used to be voluntary. He also explains the two tier system ofREFCOM F-Gas certification and REFCOM ELITE02:19 Lisa explains the Institute of Refrigeration03:55 James introduces us to the new term of “natural refrigerants” and the refrigerant propane which is now becoming a popular refrigeration gas for heat pumps.We talk about propane in split systems and the regulations around this06:02 EN378 safety regulations - quantity of refrigerant in occupied spaces. 06:15 James describes what a slit system is vs a monobloc. In a split the compressor and one of the coils is outside the property with two refrigerant lines joining it to the fan coil unit FCU within the property07:20 Lisa discusses issues with the purchase of split systems and how important it is to employ professionals. And Graham explains the regulation behind a non hermetically sealed pre charged piece of equipment and fluorinated gasses.10:00 The problems with online sales of equipment and DIY installation. Despite propane not being a fluorinated gas (F- Gas) there are still important regulations to consider e.g. Atmospheres Explosibles (ATEX) and DSEAR (Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations)DSEAR risk assessments, room size and volume for flammable refrigerants.13:15 The difference between and F-Gas and propane and a discussion on types of refrigerants. E.g R12, fluorinated greenhouse gases, global warming potential (GWP). Generally, the lower the GWP of a refrigerant the higher the safety implication e.g flammability with the hydro carbon propane and high pressure with CO217:25 James discusses another aspect of DIY installs of spit systems: their performance and reliability. How air and moisture are bad for refrigeration systems: e.g. acid and compressor burnout20:14 Will HVAC engineers move to the renewable sector? Generation 5 of district heating with ambient loops22:40 Diversity in the industry and apprenticeships27:50 The refrigeration is a huge industry but little  knowledge of it exists31:00 How would you choose which heat pump to have based on its refrigerant. Different types of refrigerant e.g.  407c, 410a, R32 with lower flammability and a discussion around GWP.32:55 Refrigerant leakage and Total Equivalent Warming Impact36:50 CO2 as a refrigerant in mono-blocs or district networks.39:20 The expense of heat pumps and makes43:30 Hydrogen in homes…will it work Support the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Send us a text00.40 Paul Hull's experience in Denmark where there are lots of heat networks. He was out there. to look at heat recovery systems. He talks about how heat is captured from FaceBook's servers 01.35 Flue recovery for capturing heat02.40 Energy wastage in the UK and energy efficiency 03.30 Building Management Systems04.40 District Heating systems being decommissioned, and Battersea Power Station05.55 Hybrid Energy Centres06.30 Europe heat networks inspiring the UK 09.00 Lack of understanding around heat networks in the UK13.00 The discourse around heat networks14.00 Heat Networks and communities and public support for tackling climate change 17.00 Commercial heating training and self employed heating engineers18.00 British Gas apprenticeship scheme22.00 Products going on in AustriaSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Send us a textGuests: Ingo Leusbrock Head of department "Cities and Networks" at AEE Institute For Sustainable Technologie a Non-profit research institute in Gleisdorf, Austria https://www.aee-intec.at/index.php?lang=enResearch and demonstration on renewable energy and energy and resource efficiency with strong focus on the thermal.This includes district heating and cooling, but also spatial energy planning, Positive Energy Districts. With main projects / contribution: ThermaFLEX, national flagship project with 27 partners on concept development and demonstration of "flexibility measures" in district heatingParticipant in IEA DHC and IEA EBC annexes / tasks in this fieldDavid Watson: Director of the Heat Trust, an independent, not for profit consumer champion for customers on heat networks. David has worked in energy policy for over 20 years and was most recently the Director of group strategy at Centrica where he worked on decarbonisation of heat policy/strategy https://www.heattrust.org/the-schemePaul Hull: Managing Director of https://www.thecommerciagroup.co.uk/ an award winning commercial and domestic heating company. Paul is one of Nathan's favourite commercial heating engineers. He is also the campaign director of https://www.gssh.co.uk/ which promotes gas safety in the UK 01.40 Are solar thermal heat networks popular in the UK02.24 The role heat networks can play in the decarbonisation of heat04.00 how renewable technology has been installed but is not being used05.55 Protecting the customer and regulation and policy06.45 Austrian heat networks and the work Are Intech does, 3,500 district heating systems all over Austria10.40 Solar Heat networks in Europe12.50 how solar thermal got a bad name and is not being talked about13.45 Heat network providers, customer assurance, customer protection and the work the Heat Trust do16:28 Kensa’s district heat system17:45 Hybrid heat networks. But not perhaps biomass. Easy user controls20:00 Hydrogen’s role in heat and hydrogen ready. Hydrogen networks23:30 Quality management programmes, spacial energy planning and support from Europe to help the UK with SolarHeat heat networks, spacial energy planning26:50 Redeveloped heat networks and retrofit heat networks. National energy policy and strategy devolving to regional, local level design making. Starting with energy efficiency.29:00 Ageing district heating systems29: 30 Demineralised water VDI2035 for district heating systems to protect corrosionSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Send us a textVisit the BetaTeach Youtube Channel where you'll be able to see my BetaTalk guests.  Please like and subscribe. 00:30 Heat Pump manufacturer training01:58 Heat Pump supply chain issues. Heat Pump and solar thermal technology is not ordinarily stocked in plumbing merchants. Getting it delivered often involves extra contingency and logistics.05:36 Solar Thermal suppliers and the issues with obtaining solar heat components08:35 Why heat pump engineers often have to add on price09:45 Heating engineers are now self employed, does this cause problems? Will there be a shift back to employed heating engineers. As Leah explains installing a variety of technologies within a hybrid heating system e.g. (solar thermal with solar PV with battery storage with heat pump) may better suit an SME rather than a sole trader.14:12 Nathan speaks about his specialist topic: training. 18:12 Are we training to many people to get diploma certificates (not full qualifications)21:00 Most plumbers and heating engineers are self employed. They don't tend to be able to take on apprentices (students who will gain an NVQ). If they do take on an apprentice it is usually a family member e.g. daughter, son, niece or nephew.24:00 Apprenticeships are not always a great way to learn if bad habits are being transferred.30:00 Control of heat pump systems. Weather compensated control on heat pumps. Some heat pump manufacturers controls work with agile tariffs. How they can load the buffer tank at different times. How some of the good engineers do not like microclimating with zone control. Agile, load shifting, smart control technologies working with solarheat and batteries. Car charging and powerwall35:00 Will heat pump system installs be scalable and the problem with installing a system in the summer.38:00 The problem with boiler scrap-age schemes, the problem with the average boiler install.40: 00 Ken mentions the H word. Hydrogen boilers. Hydrogen does not seem to be suitable for the grid and engineers discuss better uses for Hydrogen.44:00 Low temperature heating systems. Low temp ready heating systems. Heat pump ready cylinders.    Support the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Send us a textSubscribe to this podcast on Spotify and iTunes and find this episode also on the BetaTeach Youtube Channel. Please leave a good review to help others interested in these essential topics find us through search engines. Heat Pump podcasts I imagine a few and far between. This one likes to meet the engineers installing heat pumps, solar thermal systems etc. to see and understand the challenges which they face. Engineers are at the front line of installing renewable technology and have different vantage points to other cohorts interested in reducing CO2 emissions and reaching net zero targets.01:25 Ken discusses how consumers are becoming more aware of the low carbon and renewable technologies available to them02:49 Leia from Your Energy Your Way chats about the RHI and whole house retrofit and the cost of a heat pump04:10 Rob from Solarflair education of heating engineers05:30 Nathan mentions how the gas industry has trained engineers and how high efficiency boilers are not efficient if on inefficient heating systems07:06 Leia - changing radiators for heat pump systems and the importance of rom by room heat loss calculations08:23 wet heating systems and how many radiators are oversized and perfect for low temp heating systems10:00 fabric first and the second law of thermodynamics10:35 heat pumps matching heat loss and insulation requirements. Hybrid and bivalent heating systems11:35 High temp heat pumps and MCS rules12:09 MCS accreditation and the struggle with DNO form filling14:00 DNO District Network Operators and Energy Network Association16:46 Concerns with overload and amps. AC and DC and Substations19:44 A 12kW heat pump does not require a 12kW electrical supply21:06 COP goes down in the winter, low temp heating systems and heat calculations24:11 Solar heat and solar thermal hybrid heating systems. Glycol stagnation and refract testing26: 35 Integration of solar thermal with buffer tank and buffer size29:30 Airing cupboard and roof space for heat pumps and how solar thermal is more efficient than PV with small roof spaceSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky