BetaTalk - The Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Heating Podcast

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The 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 below

ITV NEWS
Financial Times
BBC

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Fantastic 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  

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Lots 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.

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This 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 sponsor

It features 

• European policy expert Louise Sunderland from the RAP
• UK 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.  

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Mark 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 Training

Thermal Bypass Risks

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Measuring Heat pump system design with Brendon from Heacol
Link to slides for the test can be found here

THE TEST RIG
Brendon 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 

1. testing a heat pump system with 3rd party controls and buffer tank
2. testing a heat pump system with weather compensation and buffer tank
3. testing 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 here

The 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 C

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We 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 here

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Nathan chats with Tarik Bellahcene from the European Heat Pump Association about Keymark

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We spoke with Graeme Fox from BESA about the first world ventilate day. You can watch live also their webinar which will also be recorded


12:00pm GMT - Tuesday 8 November 2022

Join 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
 

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We chat to Phil Jones from Alpha about boilers and their need to be working better with proper control. 

We also mention the hybrid offering from Alpha where for aprox. £3100 a home owner can have a new boiler which is connected to a 4kW fan coil unit outside.

Enjoy the  episode and thanks for listening 

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Nathan on Linkedin, Twitter and BlueSky