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

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 Supplies Support the show

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 HomelyThe discussion involves what is currently happening in the heat pump industry as well as Homely's heat pump optimisation tool. Enjoy!Support the show

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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

This is the second episode of the special Heat Pump Ready podcast series, in collaboration with the Carbon Trust with funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. In this episode, Nathan talks to 4 Heat Pump Ready projects to discuss ‘How Innovation can improve the heat pump survey and design process’. Key topics discussed include: - Ways to improve heat loss calculations, the limitations of standard methods and the potential role of measured heat loss in...

Emma Bohan from IMS Heating came up with the idea for surveying heat pump installation companies big and small. She brought me on board with the project and I had Nesta help with the construction of the survey and its analysis. The podcast episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Installer Show 2024 with some audience questions at the end. Take a look at the survey report here Support the Show.

In the first episode of season 10 which is being sponsored by Ultimate Renewables Supplies Nathan speaks with Madeleine Gabriel the Mission Director for Sustainable Future mission at NESTA and Adam Bell, formerly a civil servant at DECC, BEIS and DESNZ and now policy Director at Stonehaven.Support the Show.

In this episode I spoke to Nigel Banks, Technical Director at Octopus Energy. Nigel is author of Fabric Fifth which many now see as the common sense approach to retrofitting and decarbonising homes. Nigel spoke in a personal capacity. I was extremely grateful he came on the show. I have been critical of Octopus in certain regards but am also well aware they are doing important work. It was a pleasure to have Nigel speak on my show. I also chatted with Dan Kelly, Managing...

Nathan sat down with three regional winners for the 2024 Heating Installer Awards.They explain their winning installs as well as well as discussing the current trends happening in the industrySupport the Show.

Nathan was grateful the IMA reached out to ask if their CEO, Simon Storer, could come on the podcast to contribute to a very interesting debate.Nigel Banks from Octopus (who wrote this fabric article) was scheduled to appear on the show and will be coming on for a follow up episode.Nathan was very grateful Richard Erskine, who could step in at short notice to be a guest host, who has lots to offer in the debate and wrote the very good "Insulate Britain! Yes, but by how much"...

Nathan sat down to chat all things heat pumps and training with Clayton Brown from CB Heating.EDF acquired CB Heating back in 2022 which is one of the largest heat pump installation entities in the UK. EDF’s strategic investment and partnership with CB Heating have supported the development of the HPIN Academy. This academy provides free training to upskill engineers at every level in the UK.The episode also discusses the recent partnership between Ideal Heating, a group Atlantic company...

Heat 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...

In 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...

Nathan 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

Sweden 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...

As 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 to...

Season 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

In 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

Here 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...

Nathan 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

In 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

This 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

Econic 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...