BetaTalk - The Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Heating Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Nathan chats to his friend Ian Edgeworth, author of the recent books "Wellcome to the Wonderful world of Air source Heat Pumps - What Kept You"  and "The Pocket Guide to Low Temperature Central Heating"  You can find the books at New Perspectives. Com Listen to Ian's journey into teaching and what he and Nathan think of the current situatio...

Send us Fan Mail The latest episode of BetaTalk dives deep into a topic of critical importance for the future of skilled trades and green technology: the intricate world of Vocational Training Qualifications (VTQs) and how they stack up against General Qualifications (GQs). Host Nathan Gambling, always at the forefront of heating and skills discussions, explores a key differentiator in VTQs: the e...

Send us Fan Mail This week on the podcast, Nathan sits down with Nigel from DK Heat Recovery to discuss an innovative approach to energy efficiency. Many businesses across the UK, like meat and food processing plants and butchers, rely on cold storage rooms kept cool by heat pump systems. These facilities also require significant amounts of hot water for their washing-down processes. Similarly, gy...

Send us Fan Mail Join Nathan's guests David & Rob from Fornax and dive into the nitty-gritty of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) consultation and explore how third-party finance could be the key to unlocking widespread domestic heat pump adoption. We'll break down the "finance gap challenge," look at what makes third-party ownership work, and dissect the pros and cons of dif...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for a fascinating conversation with Mike Costain, the Managing Director of The Installer Show ! In this special episode, we pull back the curtain on the UK's leading event for heating and plumbing professionals, exploring what's new, what's next, and how the show is expanding its horizons internationally. But that's not all! Mike also shares his invalua...

Send us Fan Mail In the fourth episode of the Heat Pump Ready special bulletin series, Nathan talks to three Heat Pump Ready projects to discuss the topic of ‘Improving the customer journey’. Nathan is joined by Jack Jarvis from EDF, Gareth Robertson from Thermly and Lucy Fairchild from Oxford City Council to discuss. Support the show Learn more about heat pump heating by following Nathan on Linke...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Nathan invites Mick Wall, his 'expert consumer,' back to have a discussion with the lads from Havenwise , a company dedicated to helping with quality heat pump installations. Havenwise runs an API which optimizes the weather curves on the heat pump, as well as looking at time-of-use tariffs. You can choose to use various functionalities. For example, Mic...

Send us Fan Mail Join host Nathan Gambling as he journeys to Intergas HQ alongside legendary heat pump engineer Steve Webster to get the inside scoop on their high-quality stainless steel hot water cylinders, specifically designed for heat pump systems. Steve shares his firsthand experience testing these cylinders on recent installations, highlighting their exceptional build quality and resilience...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Description: Host Nathan dives into the rapidly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence and its potential impact on the plumbing and heating industry. Joining him are Barrie and Amrit from Lorefuly , experts in leveraging technology for the trades. Key Discussion Points: The Hallucination Hazard: The trio discusses the crucial issue of Large Language Model (LLM) "ha...

Send us Fan Mail Nathan speaks with Leah Robson, owner of a small SME (Your Energy Your Way) installing heat pumps, batteries, and solar, about her recent appearance at Westminster. Leah gave evidence to the "Workforce Planning to Deliver Clean, Secure Energy" Committee, invited through Ellora Coupe of "Her Retrofit Space." The discussion centres on whether Leah's concerns...

Send us Fan Mail In this insightful episode, host Nathan sits down with two key figures from the Heat Pump Association (HPA) – CEO Charlotte Lea and Chair Craig Dolan – to explore the role the HPA plays in the evolving UK heating landscape. They delve into the value the association brings to the industry, particularly as the nation transitions towards low-carbon heating solutions. The conversation...

Send us Fan Mail Nathan chats with Dan Large a Director at Solaris Energy. Dan has been involved with the design, installation and maintenance of heat pump heating systems for a good number of years.  The important topic of water quality comes up and Solaris Energy use VDI 2035 methods rather than a chemical inhibitor approach.  Dan is on the installer working group at MCS and gives insight into t...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to BetaTalk, the podcast dedicated to exploring the exciting world of renewable heating! In this episode, host Nathan is joined by two fantastic guests: Barry Sharp from Renewable Heat and a familiar voice to BetaTalk listeners, and Scott Sanford who has recently embarked on his own renewable heating journey. Our conversation kicks off with a fascinating deep dive int...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to the show! In this episode, I'm joined by a good friend and expert in the renewable energy sector, Ken Bone from Ultimate Renewables Supplies. Ken and I dive deep into a topic that's crucial for efficient heating and the future of low-carbon homes: weather compensated heating systems. One of the key points we explore is the apparent lack of understanding w...

Send us Fan Mail In this eye-opening episode, we delve into the contrasting approaches to water treatment in European domestic heating systems for corrosion prevention. While the UK predominantly champions chemical inhibitor solutions under the EN BS 7593 standard, many European nations embrace a wider range of methods. Surprisingly, some UK chemical inhibitor manufacturers who exclusively promote...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what connects the discipline of a three-time Oxford-Cambridge boat race rower with the intricacies of sustainable architecture and the practicalities of installing heat pumps? This week, Nathan Gambling sits down with Henry Pelly,  an extraordinary individual who seamlessly blends these worlds.  Our guest is a Principal Sustainability Consultant at the renowned Max F...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered how heat pump systems differ between the UK and the US? In this episode, Nathan chats with Shreyas Sudhakar, a leading heat pump installer and educator from California, to explore the contrasting approaches. Nathan, who has fond memories of his time in America, and his apprenticeship on a US airbase in the UK, emphasises the strong connection he feels to the country....

Send us Fan Mail Damon Blackmore is a massive favourite among other competent heat pump installation engineers.  He uses social media to help other heating engineers become interested in heat pump systems and has some of the highest performing heat pumps in the country. Unfortunately, the voices of good engineers are being drowned out by the comms pieces from much larger entities involved in the s...

Send us Fan Mail Nathan chats to Adam Bell, Director of Policy at Stonehaven about: Ofgem and the recent findings from Citizens Advice The CfD (Contracts for Difference) consultation  the report from the National Infrastructure Commission's - Electricity Distribution Networks: Creating capacity for the future   Pylons MCS You can find Adam on Linkedin and his blog site Unbalancing Mechanism  ...

Send us Fan Mail Heat pump owners around the UK have joined the Nesta scheme whereby they allow visitors to come visit them and ask questions about their heating system.  Nathan chats to Codrina Cretu and Andy Marsden about the benefits of this free scheme to people thinking of having a heat pump as well as the benefits to installation engineers who can use it as a marketing tool. Support the show...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 3 of the Heat Pump Ready programme. Nathan chats to Ian Rose arPassiv UK, Casey Cole at Guru, and Mark Lufkin at Wondrwall Support the show Learn more about heat pump heating by following Nathan on Linkedin , Twitter and BlueSky

Send us Fan Mail Nathan talks with Katrina from Energy Systems Catapult and Trysten Lee from Open Energy Monitor about a key question surrounding the Electrification of Heat (EoH) trial: why did the heat pumps perform so poorly? The trial, involving aprox. 740 heat pumps, showed an average Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF) of just 2.81 for air source. This contrasts sharply with the performance of...

Send us Fan Mail Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery systems are discussed with Nathan's guests Duncan and Barry Sharp. Regular listeners will know Barry from previous episodes of BetaTalk and is one of Nathan's favourite heat pump engineers based in Scotland. Duncan is Barry's dad and has been specialising in MVHR systems since around 2010. The discussion looks at how effective MV...

Send us Fan Mail Nathan interviews Mick Wall, a self-proclaimed 'heating nerd,' about his experiences with a heat pump expertly installed by Damon Blackmore, a renowned engineer. Mick's story, like those of Trystan and Glyn featured on episode 10 of BetaTalk's 10th season (who run heatpumpmonitor.org), exemplifies a fascinating shift: the rise of informed heat pump consumers. T...

Send us Fan Mail Nathan talks to Steph Willis and Joseph Saxby, founders of Spruce. Lot's of topics covered in this exciting conversation such as heat loss, heat pump sizing and EPCs  Support the show Learn more about heat pump heating by following Nathan on Linkedin , Twitter and BlueSky