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BetaTalk - The Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Heating Podcast
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BetaTalk - The Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Heating Podcast

Author: Nathan Gambling BetaTeach

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BetaTalk 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.
120 Episodes
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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 the show
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 start talking about them. We need to get people talking about heating in a positive and fun way. So how do we do that?This is something I care about and I know this is something you care about too. You care about getting people to talk about heating. But it's challenging. So, to help you,  Lawrence and I have developed a tool. It's a practical tool and it will  engender conversations around heating.It's new, it's fun, and it's very quirky. Take a listen and meet my partner Lawrence... together we have started up Jouln  As well as home owner listeners if you are associated with Local Authorities, Social Housing Groups, construction companies and even energy suppliers and interested in Digital Twins /artificial intelligence and how  they can help you then please contact us at lawrence@jouln.comOnce again, thank you for being part of something special.Support the show
Coding the Heating Industry

Coding the Heating Industry

2023-12-3101:00:20

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
Is MCS Fit For Purpose?

Is MCS Fit For Purpose?

2023-12-0701:31:06

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 outEnjoy!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 owners to learn from each other about what works what doesn't work. Arguably, other monitoring schemes (which cost the tax payer money) have caused a headache to the energy transition movement because such studies were using incompetent installation companies to put these heating systems in. This has meant a low COP average which the fossil fuel industry loves to allude to.  These schemes have not shed much, if any, data on system design so no one has really learned anything from them. Conversely, this platform has engendered a hive of learning with engineers not only being able to learn from each other but also being able to validate their competence to prospective customers.  It's a great episode...take a listenSupport the show
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 listenSupport 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 hereThank 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 a customer may have and at the same time offer them a cheaper alternative - both in upfront and running costs.Econic will be working with local community groups as well as Local Authorities. To find out more contact the team here  Support the show
Nathan 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 companies?The episode also looks at how a 1960s home could be heated from single panel radiators with just a flow of approx. 53°C... Support the show
In 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, awarding bodies and MCS etc etcSupport the show
In 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 2023You can find the links discussed on the show belowNIBE Training University of West London PVT case studySupport the show
*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 topic so sit back and enjoy.We also discuss the Glowmarkt website being developed by consortium partners within the Heat Pump Ready programme which Nathan, the host of the show, is part of. Support the show
I 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 voice. Unfortunately, in the energy discourses I'm privileged to be a part of these days the coal face engineers are not always being listened too.It is why it was refreshing when Andrew reached out and asked if he could come chat with us on the podcast. Andrew is one of my listeners and openly admits he has found it extremely useful to listen and learn from the engineers I have had on the show. Enjoy the showSupport the show
Recycled 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 show
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 belowITV NEWS Financial TimesBBCSupport the show
The EPC debate

The EPC debate

2023-03-2959:181

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  Support the show
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.Support the show
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 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 show
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Comments (8)

Merte Peeters

again great episode.... explained every except... what a Inhibitor actually is? does it lower temp somehow? i cant relate to that here in NL? i'll look it up also.. thx!!

Aug 17th
Reply

Mike Lagan

Nathan, I've enjoyed listening to your podcasts for a long time now but find you are drifting more and more into high level discussions which are frankly quite boring. For me and I imagine many listeners want to hear about the latest and popular products in the current UK heat pump market and feedback from home users and details about the systems installed. For example hearing about how home users have retrofitted heat pumps, costs and products used. For now I am unsubscribing from your podcast as I can't endure another boring episode Mike

Jul 10th
Reply

Chris Knowles

I am a consumer looking for the best way to stop using fossil fuels in my home. I have done a lot in terms of insulation and looking at how best to get rid of my gas boiler, hence I dip into this podcast. I'm afraid every time I listen it just convinces me more this is not for me. And this particular edition sounds like a complete waste of public money promoting what is only ever going to be a small niche. Sorry!

Jun 28th
Reply

Chris Knowles

You should listen to the majority of your customers, heat pumps simply won't work in the homes we live in.

Jun 12th
Reply

Mike Lagan

Nathan, Great episode with Richard. Enjoyed all the info on modulating gas boiler heating with examples of from manufacturers, e.g. Alpha and Intergas. Please bring him back again to do one on domestic air sourced heat pumps with similar examples and manufacturer recommendations and things to look out for, e.g. best side of house to place heat pump, noise issues with neighbours, retrofit to micro bore systems, etc Mike

Sep 4th
Reply

Chris Knowles

I'm a homeowner who is very sceptical about having a heat pump and this podcast is only reinforcing that. I could afford it but the amount of change and the lack of experienced competent engineers puts it way down my list. Renewable energy and an electric combi boiler sounds much better.

Feb 1st
Reply

Chris Knowles

Thank you for this, you've done a great job in convincing me that the last thing I will consider is a heat pump. Too complex, have to change radiators and find space for a hot water cylinder again. An electric combi boiler combined with vehicle to grid / home technology and off peak tariffs will do it for me, my insulation is good and none of the other high costs and complexity.

Oct 22nd
Reply

Denny Luyis

A very useful podcast! I think people need to know more about renewable energy because it is our future. U.S. consumption of renewables is expected to grow over the next 30 years at an average annual rate of 1.8 percent, higher than the overall growth rate in energy consumption (0.2 percent per year) under a business-as-usual scenario. These are very good predictions, and I hope they will come true. But I'm wondering if more software will be created to simplify the workflow. For example, I heard that this software is now widely used - https://fluix.io/industry-renewable-energy . But will only it be enough, or will it be necessary to come up with something else?

Apr 21st
Reply
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