BetaTalk - The Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Heating Podcast
139 episodes - English - Latest episode: 15 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingBetaTalk is the recent winner of the British Renewable Energy Awards 2020 communication category “which recognises an organisation who has done most to enhance awareness or championed positive change for renewables or clean technology with key opinion formers: parliament, government or the public”Nathan Gambling known as BetaTeach on Twitter discusses energy and the transition to low carbon technologies such as solar thermal and heat pumps with some of the best renewable engineers. He is uniquely known in the industry for spotting the exceptionally high talented heating engineers who are out at the coal face doing their bit to decarbonise our homes and buildings.
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Episodes
Radiator Outputs Could Cause Heat Pump Problems
April 12, 2024 10:00 - 51 minutes - 35.1 MBHeat pumps move energy from and energy source e.g. air, ground water (hence they are called :air source, ground source) to a sink. The sink is the emitter system within a home e.g. radiators, underfloor heating (UFH) and fan coils. Engineers, Installers, designers and the occupants of a home rely on radiators having accurate power output data. Unfortuanlty, it looks like their is a big problem in the radiator industry: the published power outputs are being over stated. This has huge cons...
The Ideal Experience for a Heat Pump Customer
March 26, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 52.1 MBIn this episode Nathan chats to Paul Eastwood, Head of Energy Systems Planning at OFGEM and the past Senior Climate and Energy Advisor at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Also joining the heat pump conversation is engineer Barry Sharpe from Renewable Heat The discussion focuses on what an ideal customer journey is. Paul has had a heat pump system after Nathan recommended Barry to him. The episode questions if Paul's experience could have been better with the hope engine...
Current Issues at the Heat Pump Coalface
February 28, 2024 21:00 - 1 hour - 42.4 MBNathan chats to Barry Sharpe from Renewable Heat, Emma Bohan from IMS Heat Pumps and Steve Webster from EGE Energy about the MCS hybrid consultation, heat pump training as well as glycol and anti-freeze valves. Support the show
How Swedish Company AIRA Will Help the Heating & Energy Transition
January 28, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 43 MBSweden have had a long tradition with heating technologies and have incredible expertise regarding heat pumps. Nathan talks to the Swedish company AIRA, the new entrant to the UK's heating and home renewables industry. AIRA will be installing heat pump and other technologies across Europe bringing their expertise first to Italy, Germany and the UK. It's a great episode and Nathan enjoyed his conversation with Daniel Sarefjord, the chief executive of Aira in the UK, immensely. Support ...
You are a Special Group of People - Thank you
January 21, 2024 19:00 - 48 minutes - 33.4 MBAs the title states, you are a very special group of people to me. You listen to me ramble on about heating for a start and I am very grateful for that.. So, thank you. I appreciate that very much. This is the first episode of 2024 and I wanted to do something a bit special. Something for you. As you know, this podcast is called BetaTALK... and the talk aspect is very important. In order to help accelerate the mainstream adoption of transitional heating technologies we first need people t...
Coding the Heating Industry
December 31, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 41.5 MBSeason 9 is sponsored by Grundfos and in this episode Nathan speaks to James Twallin about the software and codes behind the heating industry. Support the show
Is MCS Fit For Purpose?
December 07, 2023 21:00 - 1 hour - 62.6 MBIn this episode Nathan chats to Paul Spence, a very competent and highly regarded heating engineer. Paul installs a range of heating system types including heat pumps. It's a long but highly interesting episode. If you want to hear Paul's credentials first skip to around the 1hr 05 min mark... and then come back to the beginning of course. Paul also runs the facebook group HeatPumps UK...check it out Enjoy! Support the show
Look at the Best Performing Heat Pump Systems in Real Time
November 09, 2023 13:00 - 57 minutes - 39.7 MBHere is the link to the heat pump installer survey (lot's of prizes to be won) In this episode Nathan speaks with Glyn Hudson and Trystan Lea who along with open source enthusiasts have created open energy monitor and heat pump monitor. Heat pump installers and consumers are installing monitoring equipment such as heat meters onto their heat pump systems to obtain COP readings. COP stands for the coefficient of performance. The monitoring has provided the oppotunity for engineers and home...
How Do We Get Flexible Demand on the Electric Grid
October 30, 2023 21:00 - 49 minutes - 33.7 MBNathan speaks with Sandra Trittin, co-founder of tiko Energy Solutions and co-host of the podcast Talking New Energy from LCP Delta. Joining Sandra is Talking New Energy's other host Jon Slow partner at LCP Delta. The discussion centres around how we may be able to heat pumps, batteries and EVs as as virtual power plants to increase the flexibility of the grid . Take a listen Support the show
Industrial Heat Solutions with Caldera
October 12, 2023 13:00 - 46 minutes - 31.8 MBIn the first episode of a new season Nathan chats to James Macnaghten, CEO of Caldera. Caldera manufacture and supply thermal storage solutions for industrial heat processes. Get early access to their investment opportunity here Thank you to season sponsors Grundfos Support the show
A Live Chat with Ian Rippin CEO of MCS
September 26, 2023 06:00 - 35 minutes - 24.3 MBThis was a recorded live show at Installer 2023 and featured Ian Rippin from MCS along with Ken Bone and Leah Robinson from Your Energy Your Way. Ian discusses the consultation and the new changes coming. Support the show
Making the Transition Work for Both Consumers and Installers
August 26, 2023 08:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBEconic is a new venture from Nathan's friend Christophe Grossbaier. Its aim is to make the transition from gas boilers to heat pumps smoother for both customers and installers and uses a hybrid heat pump business model to achieve this. With an engineering background and Masters from Cambridge University, Christophe appreciates heat pumps can heat almost any building but understands customers still have their concerns and worries. This business model is designed to take away the anxiety...
Are Heating Manufacturers Misinterpreting Building Regs
August 14, 2023 17:00 - 35 minutes - 24.5 MBNathan dives into the history of heating systems and looks at why chemical inhibitors were introduced to prevent corrosion. He also points out that manufactures are possibly misinterpreting the building regulations e.g. they are getting confused with a requirement within the building regs and the guidance contained in an approved document. It also takes a look at the Benchmark system and questions if it is fit for purpose. Is it biased towards maintaining growth of the chemical inhibitor ...
Listening to the heating engineers
July 26, 2023 05:00 - 1 hour - 45.7 MBIn this episode Nathan interviews Faye Wade, his favourite academic researching the heating industry. This is because Faye understands that the most vital component of the industry is the engineer and that we need to really listen to them. Joining Faye are Nathan's friends Leah, Sovay and Rhiannon who are all involved in installing and maintaining heating systems. This is a fab episode with lot's of discussion around the transition to heat pumps and things like certification bodies, awardi...
Special Bulletin: The Heat Pump Ready Programme Episode 1
June 23, 2023 04:00 - 50 minutes - 34.9 MBAlongside usual episodes from the BetaTalk Podcast, Nathan will be helping the Carbon Trust and the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero disseminate knowledge around the learnings from the Heat Pump Ready Programme with around 10 extra podcast episodes. This is episode 1 of these special Heat Pump Ready bulletins. The Heat Pump Ready Programme is part of the The Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which is a £1 billion fund, announced in the Prime Minister’s ten point plan for a green i...
Exhaust Air Heat Pumps and PVT with NIBE
June 20, 2023 07:00 - 37 minutes - 25.6 MBIn this conversation Nathan chats with Jonny Hancock, product manager at NIBE about some of the products and solutions they have on offer including their new exhaust air heat pump being launched at the InstallerShow 2023 You can find the links discussed on the show below NIBE Training University of West London PVT case study Support the show
Heat Pump Quotations - solving the mystery
June 15, 2023 17:00 - 43 minutes - 30.2 MB*Update: in this episode Damon and host Nathan realised after editing there was a mistake. An easy one to make as engineers like Damon have so many numbers running around in their head. He mentions he sizes radiators to 50°C when in fact Damon is one of the engineers who designs to a lower flow temp of 40-45*C for a radiator heating circuit. In this episode we speak to the fabulous engineers Damon from Blakemore Plumbing and Heating and Barry from Renewable Heat about quotations. It's a hot...
How British Gas Zero Will Decarbonise Homes
June 09, 2023 09:00 - 58 minutes - 40.5 MBI really enjoyed this episode chatting with Andrew Middleton, Managing Director at British Gas Zero and Steve Petrie, regional manager at British Gas Zero who also is a former British Gas engineer. I brought along for the ride my friend Adam Gilhespy from Carno to help me host the conversation as he also is a former British Gas engineer and like Andrew understands strategy and processes. For anyone who knows my podcast I started it so on the ground engineers could have a more amplified ...
Whole Life Carbon with Daikin and XCO2
May 15, 2023 14:00 - 1 hour - 51.7 MBRecycled 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 XCO2 Sara Godinho, Associate at XCO2 To hear what Daikin are doing with recycled refrigerant skip to 1 hour 2 mins... a link is provided in the chapters tab Support the show
How to Heat Terrace Houses with Heat Networks
April 25, 2023 15:00 - 44 minutes - 30.7 MBThe 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 Support the show
The EPC debate
March 29, 2023 14:00 - 59 minutes - 40.8 MBFantastic 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 show
Are Gas Heating Engineers Valued Enough?
February 27, 2023 07:00 - 54 minutes - 37.5 MBLots 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 show
Leading Experts Discuss Fabric, Heat Pumps, Innovation and Policy - 100th Episode
February 13, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 55.4 MBThis 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...
Building Fabric Issues With Leading Passivhaus Architect Mark Sidall
January 20, 2023 11:00 - 50 minutes - 34.7 MBMark 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 Support the show
Measuring the Best Heat Pump System Designs
December 29, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 54.5 MBMeasuring 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 b...
Is Transitioning from a Gas Engineer to Heat Pump Engineer Challenging?
December 18, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 46.3 MBWe 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 Support the show
Heat Pump Certification with KeyMark
November 28, 2022 09:00 - 42 minutes - 29.2 MBNathan chats with Tarik Bellahcene from the European Heat Pump Association about Keymark Support the show
World Ventilate Day
November 08, 2022 08:00 - 48 minutes - 33.1 MBWe 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 soluti...
Boiler or Boiler with a Heat Pump?
October 22, 2022 09:00 - 46 minutes - 32.1 MBWe 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 Support the show
Heat Pumps in Scotland
October 05, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 42.6 MBFantastic episode with Barry who runs Renewable Heat up in Scotland. We discuss his heat pump journey as well as his work with the plumbing and heating association Snipef. We discuss lots such as MCS, the NIBE PVT system, sizing heat pumps and the new service which www.heatpimpsurvey.com provides which measures rather than calculates heat loss. We also mention how some of the old solid wall buildings are some of Barry's best performing systems. Defrost cycles are discussed and how a heat ...
Importance of Modulating Flow Temps - UK's First Modulating Domestic Oil Boiler
September 25, 2022 14:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MBNathan chats to the MD of EOGB about a UK first - a domestic modulating oil boiler. The boiler uses open therm to modulate the flame and will output different flow temps to the radiators or other heating emitters. Nathan starts the episode with a little pre-amble about the importance of flow temps constantly changing to match the demand of the property. Enjoy! Support the show
What Are the Most Efficient Boilers - modulation & PDHW
September 02, 2022 10:00 - 58 minutes - 40.2 MBWe are joined by Richard Burrows from Mid Wales Plumbing and Heating Supplies who is an expert on heating control strategy. Richard talks about the types of modulation - load compensation and weather compensation and how all boilers should be controlled this way. To understand modulation I have written an article with a funny analogy here With advice about turning boiler temperatures down for combination boilers 'combis' Richard chats about heating systems using cylinders and how the outd...
Heat Pump Pipework Insulation Problems & Solutions
August 23, 2022 11:00 - 27 minutes - 19.1 MBNathan chats with his friend Dave who runs and owns Condensate Pro and now Primary Pro. Primary Pro is a polyethylene product which comes pre painted making it easier to use than class O insulation. He has also developed Bond & Seal which can be applied all weathers unlike the contact adhesive which is used for Class O. The conversation is a useful resource for people wanting to understand the types of pipe insulation available and how to install it correctly, especially for heat pump pipe...
Heating Industry Diversity
August 04, 2022 08:00 - 40 minutes - 28 MBNathan is a big supporter of diversity within the heating industry and this special episode is the first ever BetaTalk podcast takeover e.g. Nathan is not in it. The episode has been hosted by three remarkable women who are involved in plumbing and heating: Sovey, Leah and Rhiannon. They interviewed one of Nathan's friends Andy who has been involved in the industry for quite some time. A fun packed episode with all kinds of interesting stuff Support the show
Heat Pump Policy in Practice
July 20, 2022 22:00 - 1 hour - 51.9 MBNathan has a great chat with Daniel Newport from the Tony Blair Institute for Climate and one of his regular renewable heating engineers James from Elite Services Group based in Hull. Daniel previously held a senior position at BEIS and was part of the team that introduced the target of 600,000 heat pumps by 2028. All sorts of interesting stuff in this episode. Support the show
A Live Podcast at the Installer & Elemental Show at the NEC
July 14, 2022 13:00 - 46 minutes - 32 MBNathan hosted a live podcast to discuss heat pumps at the industry's favourite show. On the guest panel were Heat Architects Steve Webster and Si Posket along with the podcasts expert guest on commercial refrigeration Lisa-Jayne Season 6 of BetaTalk is being sponsored by Farnell We also like to thank the European Heat Pump Association and Key Mark in helping to promote life long learning within the sector Support the show
How Well do Heat Pumps Perform - looking at the OFGEM data
July 07, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBOfgem have been collecting performance data on heat pump installs and Nathan chats to Collin Meek from RB&M who has analysed the data. The report summary can be found here Learn what COP (coefficient of performance) SCOP and SPF (seasonal performance factor) all mean as well as their limitations. Are heat pumps in the UK performing well? Find out in this great episode. A big thanks to season 6 sponsors Farnell Also a big thanks to Tado, The European Heat Pump Association and Key Mark...
How Well do Heat Pumps Perform - looking at the OFGEM data
July 07, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBOfgem have been collecting performance data on heat pump installs and Nathan chats to Collin Meek from RB&M who has analysed the data. The report summary can be found here Learn what COP (coefficient of performance) SCOP and SPF (seasonal performance factor) all mean as well as their limitations. Are heat pumps in the UK performing well? Find out in this great episode. A big thanks to season 6 sponsors Farnell Also a big thanks to Tado, The European Heat Pump Association and Key Mark...
Homes with NO Energy Bills - The Octopus Ilke Homes
June 17, 2022 14:00 - 41 minutes - 28.3 MBCan a home have no energy bills? Yes. We chat to Nigel from Ilke Homes who have just partnered with Octopus Energy for an exciting project where the occupant is expected to pay no energy bills. The homes will use heat pumps, lots of solar PV and batteries. Hear how they work on this episode. This episode is accompanied by a special patron episode where we go more into the detail of these Octopus and Ilke zero energy bill homes Support the show
Energy Storage & Heat Batteries using WarmStone and Phase Change Materials
June 11, 2022 09:00 - 52 minutes - 36.1 MBMeet Nathan's guest Tom Lowe who heads up the Thermal Storage Association with founding members SunAmp, Caldera and Tepeo. Tom has had previous roles in OFGEM, British Gas and Buld Energy so there is lots of great discussion in this episode Use the 10% discount code BETATALK10 with Farnell purchases over £50 Support the show
Carbon Coop Retrofit - a Conversation with Marianne, Matt & Johnathan
May 26, 2022 06:00 - 55 minutes - 38.4 MBIn this first episode of season 6 I chat with some of the people in the Carbon CoOp team You can hear what they are all about and how they have been helping people navigate through the cacophony of retrofit and renewable heating advice. They are one of my favourites out there and really understand the challenge. Matt is very much an enthusiast, like myself, in monitoring buildings and heating with sensors etc in order to engender better outcomes and encourage learning. In keeping with a...
The Heating Controls Industry - A Chat with David Newton
May 20, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 45.9 MBNathan speaks to his good friend and his control expert David Newton. David started his career in controls back in the 70s and has interesting stories. The conversation centres around the fact it is not a technical problem which needs solving but a human one. Support the show
A Conversation with The European Heat Pump Association
May 06, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 45.9 MBIn this episode Nathan talks to Thomas Nowak the Secretary General of the EHPA. Thomas has a wealth of knowledge in the European Heat Pump space and has been disseminating good advice for quite some time. Take a listen We are currently the #1 energy podcast in the UK here Support the show
Protons for Breakfast - Flow Temp and HTC Measurements
April 23, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 44.6 MBIn this episode Nathan chats to retired physicists Michael de Podesta about his video on how to quickly get an idea of the heat loss of your home. You can follow him on Twitter at @Protons4B and find his blog here Support the show
Helping You Understand the Heating Industry - a Conversation with Adam Gilhespy from Heat Futures
April 01, 2022 17:00 - 59 minutes - 40.8 MBOne of my favourite conversations: Adam is a rare entity. He is a heating engineer but understands extremely well the tech world now entering the heating industry and will play an important part. It is a frank conversation and we hope you enjoy and get something from it Support the show
Boiler Upgrade Scheme - Emergency Episode
March 19, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 45.9 MBThe Renewable Heat Incentive is about to finish and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme is about to start. Heat pump installation companies have found themselves in a state of limbo and an open letter has been drafted to put forward their concerns to BEIS and OFGEM This episode is in response to those concerns and features policy expert Richard Lowes, Dan Kelly & Jim McKenzie from https://www.dartmoorenergy.co.uk/, regular guest Leah Robinson from https://www.yourenergyyourway.co.uk/, and other re...
Emergency Episode on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme
March 19, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 45.9 MBThe Boiler Upgrade Scheme is about to start and the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme is about to stop. Renewable energy installation companies who fit heat pumps have found an issue and an open letter has been written to BEIS and OFGEM. This podcast came about in response to that and hope to highlight the issues. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/betatalk)
Talking Heat Pumps with NESTA
March 12, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 42.5 MBNathan knows the good people at NESTA quite well and likes their pragmatism. In this episode Nathan has a chat with Madeleine Gabriel the sustainable mission director and Andrew Sissons, the deputy mission director. They discuss insulation and how you do not need deep retrofit for heat pumps to work, even efficiently. Conversation also discusses the cost of heat pump installations and the electricity price. A great episode Support the show
Battery Storage for the Home
March 02, 2022 09:00 - 34 minutes - 23.5 MBIn this episode Nathan chats with regular guest host Ken Bone and Rachael Peterson an electronics and software engineer. Both guests are early adopters of battery technology for use within their own homes. They also have PV and Heat Pumps and a bonus episode exists on the patreon site where you can hear both guests talk about the integration of all these technologies Fasten your seat belts for this one. Support the show
Monitoring Heating Systems
February 12, 2022 15:00 - 51 minutes - 35.4 MBNathan chats to Stephanie who was monitoring heat pump systems out in Canada. One of the things Nathan is passionate about is using monitoring and Smart HTC to measure real heat loss. Monitoring can also be used to establish performance and highlight either faulty equipment or bad installation practice. In the Autumn of 2021 Nathan gave evidence to a policy commission involving members of BEIS, the CCC and OFGEM on the importance of monitoring. Enjoy the episode Support the show (https:...