All Activity

Sound like the patent basically covers having a dwh cylinder of any description in box or shed (enclosure) with gshp would be a contravention of the patent. Which is nonsense. Or containing a buffer vessel in the heat pump enclosure and they exist already, would contravene the patent. Good luck to the company, but the patent is a little limited.

Our last house was 1830 build, solid stone, very similar to the the linked house, we were NE Scottish town not rural, ours 3 storey build similar size, a lot of big single glazed windows, if I lived there now, knowing what I know now, would have zero issues installing a heat pump. Would get a better CoP there, than I do here, as we used to heat nearly all year, if fact the heating was never actually switched off (available 365 days a year). We had a similar sized boiler and it was run at a reasonably low temp and on 24/7 with very little setbacks, the boiler just ticked on and off as needed.

I am sure @jack will have some observations but for my part I tend to agree but it has been done pretty thoroughly for a scheme at this scale. It may just have been applied for as a blocking / obscuring patent requiring the big boys & girls to really do their homework which may put them off and they won't be as agile as a startup. Worst thing is the people who don't both about infringing patents - which I assume is part of the reference to them mainly being a joke.

Hi Russell Grey aluminium sounds interesting. Do you have a pointer regarding suppliers or maybe even pictures. Thanks

I know, I worked in the tech startup scene, including in Bristol, for over a decade and ran workshops for leaders in startups looking to scale from about 7m in annual revenue across Europe. The patent is just pending but to me looks like a bit of a joke when you look at what patents are really for. This is a patent application that proposes the adding a thermal store into the heat pump housing - it stretches the 'inventive step' but then patents have been a bit of a joke for the last few decades. Don't get me wrong, they're doing something good, but in reality it's just another heat pump offering with a slightly different approach. I do wish them luck and hope it goes well, but is the IP strong enough to stop the really big players or pull them in on a license deal? They'll need to have a lot of funds behind them as I bet their burn rate is pretty steep - it's not a cheap area to be developing new products in (unless they've got some backing from a large company already, but then the team would likely have a different shape). 1m in investment it positive, but it will not go very far at all, but hopefully they'll get a decent proof of concept from it to support more rounds of funding.

It's been a while.... So.... I noticed an interesting post on the open energy monitor site from a guy who lives in a stone house in rural Scotland built in 1874. The answer from the professionals when he asked for quotes to replace his boiler was that there was no way he could have a heat pump -> https://community.openenergymonitor.org/t/the-house-that-couldn-t-have-a-heat-pump/29921 He persevered, learnt a lot and now has a warm house heated by a heat pump. So it can be done but it requires first understanding the facts, then making sure that the heat pump is set up and controlled to meet the way the house behaves. @JohnMo @Nickfromwales @SimonD - the post is well worth a read.

What is the innovation - a high temp small cylinder with mixing valve outside within the heat pump enclosure? Or did I miss something? Is it something like a heat geek mini cylinder just outside instead of in a cupboard?

That's misplaced logic. If your export limit is 3.6kW and you produce 3.6kW for one hour that's 3.6kWh assuming 3.6kW is exported. How does that work, assume 12 hrs a day at 3.6kW output, so 43kWh export. To get that would be nice. I must have better things to do on a Sunday, than answer this rubbish.

Be careful of the oak you choose, anything kiln dried for indoor use like a newel post will do all sorts of weird things when outside in the damp. I might be inclined to go for some oak that has been barn stored also don’t mitre the corners use a joint has a good thickness of timber left once jointed a mitre takes the timber down to thin and it distorts unless serious glue is applied. I would use grey aluminium.

We had a strange, intermittent smell at work, seemed to be coming out of an unused air vent. Turned out to be a dead rat in a ceiling void. The intermittency was caused by water leaking through the roof.

I must have told my lad 110mm internal diameter 🤭 this is mind just a lightweight prototype print: That's obviously a 45⁰ bend rather than as 90 but it's just proof of concept. The pipes will run through it within rockwool type insulation.

Tech startups don't necessarily plan to build and scale. The founders might be working towards a buy out by one of the big companies. Resourcing up to now will probably be by angel investors and private equity. Importantly, they have IP https://www.lens.org/lens/patent/123-310-151-347-508/frontpage?l=en Fully agree and there's a lot of tech innovation going on in the UK. It looks like this company started out with the help of this innovation centre in Bristol https://www.futurespacebristol.co.uk/about-us/. Cambridge has historically been where a lot of this has been going on but Bristol is up and coming. It's cheaper than Cambridge and with e.g. Dyson and Elvie nearby they have critical mass for engineers. https://nusku.co.uk/news/start-up-secures-1-million-funding-to-develop-new-heat-pump-tech#:~:text=Nusku is a Bristol-based start-up that is,from key people in the energy sector

Surely, if DNOs wanted to police the export limits to check nobody is sneakily upping their export limit, they need to check the meter measured export. It's stored in half hourly blocks long term and availible in minute to minute blocks as well If some is exporting 2.5kwh in a half hour block they are certainly breaching their 3.6kw export limit. One strategy would be to cap export payments at whatever your dno limit is. Therefore removing any incentive to over export.

I wouldn’t underestimate the variable quality of these pipes (like everything else). Would you want to be making them for a retail price of £2.50? How would you bring the cost down? Reduce the thickness and quality of the bit you can’t see i.e. the rubber pipe? Make the braid out of shiny metal rather than stainless? Who fitted the ones you have and where did they come from? I would buy the best quality branded ones I could find, probably replace all you have, and see how well those work.

Hiya We have a nasty galvanised pole in our porch. I have been looking for something similar to newel post cladding to box it in and make it appear to be a solid oak post. Does anyone have any pointers for me please? Thank you.

I don't think you'll see any difference whatsoever by upgrading the multi-bloc (inlet group) - which I presume is what you're referring to? - to 28mm. By far the best solution if you don't have sufficient flow rates it to upgrade/modify your supply pipework - and we know you've got some design issues there. My experience is that the multi-bloc units cope absolutely fine with anything from 6l/m to 30l/m. Where I am, I don't see any supply rates much above 30l/m from the mains. Some of these have regulators that provide the same pressure whether there's flow or not. If you're replacing the multi-bloc, you need to make sure the pressure relief valve has the same pressure specification as the manufacturer supplied unit - e.g. 4.5bar or 6bar You should use the balanced cold for any mixed outlets because imbalance in pressure can cause problems in these fitting - e.g. where I am mains pressure can easily be 6bar so if you don't balance this you have 6bar at one side and 3 bar at the other. I always install and use the balanced cold as otherwise I'm installing another prv after the stockcock.

Why that big? But when is that likely to ever happen. If you hot water is above 40 degs, you will be adding cold water to flow of the showers as well... Think you may be loosing the plot!

Yes that's what I meant by a dead neighbour. Poor old guy was lying there for six months over the hot summer of 2020. The first policeman to break into the flat came straight out and threw up on the pavement after. For months I'd been trying to find the source of the grim smell - it wasn't the drains or the sewer or the bins but smelled a bit like all three. Sad business.

I mentioned on another topic, plumber is planning to replace my Caleffi pressure reducing combination valve with a 28mm valve to improve flow (my pipework is 22mm). I am reading some stuff about pressure reducing valves having to be sized correctly for expected flows, and sometimes 2 valves plumbed in parallel may be required - one for low flow, one for higher flow. (I guess I expect flows from say 5/6 l/m with one tap on through to say 35-40 l/m - 2 showers, couple of taps, kitchen appliance all going.) (Seems unfortunate that someone can't design a pressure reducing valve that works well without restricting flow over a wide flow range) PS Do you actually need to have a balanced cold ? What experience and advice can people offer re combination valves for domestic UVC systems and maximising flow ?

Yes, They looked promising but make for some awkward detailing and cuts on the valleys. Much easier to deal with the insulation and sheeting seperately. If I didn’t have the valleys these would be a no brainer. That said I still have a fixing problem. The 4x2 solution in a prev post seems like best option so far with some sort of twistfix fixing but open to further ideas

Didn't you say on another thread that you were putting traps out for rats ? And had tried poison ? You could perhaps have dead rats somewhere. Got any flies ? What happened with us years ago - rats came up a drain - got into some house voids/cavities/subfloor - wife claimed she could smell something - rat man put down poison - also blocked drain aperture - rats slowly disappear - 2-3 weeks later a plague of flies in the house. When our old extension was demolished - builders found some rat carcases under the floor. (PS Someone I once knew had a distant relative die in their house - body not found for 6 months - had to be identified by DNA. OMG)

You've lost me?

Very interesting / exciting. Always good to see a product engineering business start-up spreading its wings. Loads of challenges ahead but looks like a strong team.

Have you considered insulated metal panels? They acheive a decent span, though the detail around the gable doors might be complicated

Good ideas there. They look like they have a very good team for development. I just wonder how well resourced they are to build it and scale, but looks promising. I really do wish we could change the record though and stop trying to make every new heating solution like a gas boiler and instead try to build a new message around the transition, but I suppose with so many people still harking on about North sea oil & gas, it's an uphill struggle.