
BetaTalk - The Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Heating Podcast
"Nathan is brilliant at making the complicated simple..." Amber Rudd (Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 2015-16)BetaTalk is an award winning podcast for Local Authorities, Social Housing Groups, Think Tanks, Government, Journalists, Consultants, Developers, Gas, Oil and Heat Pump engineers and the general public. It is hosted by Nathan Gambling who's family have been involved with heat pump technologies for nearly half a century. "Nathan is one of the UK's clean heat leaders, so I always watch him closely..." Chris Stark (former CEO of the Climate Change Committee and Head of UK Gov. Mission Control)The podcast features guests from the policy world as well as some of the UK's remarkable heating engineers. It discusses challenges and opportunities with decarbonised heating.
Latest episodes

May 15, 2023 • 1h 15min
Whole Life Carbon with Daikin and XCO2
Send us a textRecycled refrigerant and Energy Performance Declarations are discussed in this episode alongside the wider discussion around whole life carbon and the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard.Nathan's guests are:Ryan Philp, the Business Development Manager at Daikin Ellie Burkill, Energy Sustainability Consultant at XCO2Sara Godinho, Associate at XCO2To hear what Daikin are doing with recycled refrigerant skip to 1 hour 2 mins... a link is provided in the chapters tabSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Apr 25, 2023 • 45min
How to Heat Terrace Houses with Heat Networks
Send us a textThe BetaTalk podcast speaks to friends at Kensa about their approach to using heat pump technology for domestic heating.Nathan and Wouter Thijssen, MD at Kensa Contracts, explain 5th generation heat networks (known as ambient loop) and how they are different to other types of district heating.For more info about the check out the links belowITV NEWS Financial TimesBBCSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Mar 29, 2023 • 59min
The EPC debate
Send us a textFantastic guests and a fantastic episode which digs deep into the Energy Performance Certificate. Nathan is joined by Madhuban Kumar, CEO of Carbon Laces; Stuart Fairlie, MD of Elmhurst Energy and Marcus Shepheard from the Climate Change Committee Support the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Feb 27, 2023 • 55min
Are Gas Heating Engineers Valued Enough?
Send us a textLots of frustration among gas engineers. Do we value the work they have been doing for so long? They are an incredibly important sector of the heating community as we will be relying on them for the transition.Support the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Feb 13, 2023 • 1h 21min
Leading Experts Discuss Fabric, Heat Pumps, Innovation and Policy - 100th Episode
Send us a textThis is the 100th episode so a big thank you to all the listeners and all those who have taken part.BIG THANK YOU TO MyEnergi who are this season's sponsorIt features European policy expert Louise Sunderland from the RAPUK policy and innovation expert Guy Newy from Energy Systems Catapult (past sponsor of the podcast)AND expert heating engineer Welsy Hort from West Hampstead Plumbing and Heating. Wesly is one of the renowned BetaTalk #heatarchitects - leading heating engineers who are helping other heating engineers learn.This episode is fantastic and discusses the recent heat pump installs Wesley did for both Guy and Louise. Both Guy and Nathan have a passion for post install monitoring and Nathan is involved in a BEIS funded Heat Pump Ready project which has a focus on monitoring. Support the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Jan 20, 2023 • 50min
Building Fabric Issues With Leading Passivhaus Architect Mark Sidall
Send us a textMark from the architectural practice LEAP discusses with Nathan airtightness, ventilation, thermal comfort and passivhaus.Questions arise such as should more loft insulation be put in and how windows ideally should be fitted.A few papers are mentioned and the links can be found here:Passivhaus Secrets (Free Documentary Case Studies)Passivhaus TrainingThermal Bypass RisksSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Dec 29, 2022 • 1h 19min
Measuring the Best Heat Pump System Designs
Send us a textMeasuring Heat pump system design with Brendon from HeacolLink to slides for the test can be found hereTHE TEST RIGBrendon discusses how he first designed the test rig with Ulster University for testing the heat pump he had built which is specifically adapted for UK climate, the UK's building stock and how the homes in the UK are commonly heated e.g. a combi boiler.When RHI was first introduced, it required heat pumps to have costly certification and sadly Brendon's heat pump had to be put on the back burner... after all, Brendon is extremely busy installing heat pumps for people and has been putting heat pumps in for many years. (Note, if you are an investor in innovation you'd do well to contact Brendon to discuss this heat pump)The test rig uses a 500L thermal store to simulate the internal of a property "it's got inertia, it's got thermal capacity and it's got buffer " A plate heat exchanger connecting the thermal store to the heat pump simulates a radiator system which can have temps and flow rates changed. Brendon describes how this set up is able to run different testing than the excellent Energy House at Salford University and benefit from quick responses to different heating stratagies and scenarios. TESTING SYSTEM DESIGN testing a heat pump system with 3rd party controls and buffer tanktesting a heat pump system with weather compensation and buffer tanktesting a heat pump system with weather compensation and no buffer tank e.g. open zone or what has been called direct in the test which can be found hereThe test simulated a house with an 11.5kW heat load.With the first test the heat pump had to run at 50 degree Celsius flow to maintain an internal temp of 21 degrees.In the second test the flow temp dropped to 45d.The final test, with open zone system, no buffer and controlled with manufactures wether compensation controls only required a flow temp coming from the heat pump of 35 degrees CSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Dec 18, 2022 • 1h 7min
Is Transitioning from a Gas Engineer to Heat Pump Engineer Challenging?
Send us a textWe chat to Szymon from Urban Plumbers who is now installing heat pumps to get a glimpse into that journey. Szymon has a great YouTube channel which you can find hereSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Nov 28, 2022 • 42min
Heat Pump Certification with KeyMark
Send us a textNathan chats with Tarik Bellahcene from the European Heat Pump Association about KeymarkSupport the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky

Nov 8, 2022 • 48min
World Ventilate Day
Send us a textWe spoke with Graeme Fox from BESA about the first world ventilate day. You can watch live also their webinar which will also be recorded12:00pm GMT - Tuesday 8 November 2022Join our panel of experts as they discuss how good ventilation can improve health and wellbeing as well as protect buildings. We will share top ventilation tips and practical solutions to implement your home, school or workplace. They answer the key questions such as: What is ventilation? What is the right solution for my building? How does it improve sleep/health/productivity? How do I know if I have a ventilation problem? Can ventilation really reduce the spread of flu, colds, and other diseases? Energy costs mean I don't want to open my windows in winter – what options do I have? BESA are supporting the global awareness campaign to promote the critical role building ventilation plays in improving health, well-being, sleep and productivity alongside scientists, academics, engineering bodies and environmental activists. As well as showcasing the range of ventilation solutions available to building owners and occupiers, #WorldVentil8Day will recognise the skilled people who implement the measures and strategies used to make buildings healthier and safer – highlighting the need for training and recruiting more skilled people to take on this growing global task. You can find the link to the webinar here Support the showLearn more about heat pump heating by followingNathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky