BetaTalk - The Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Heating Podcast

Graeme Fox
Head of REFCOM - provider of F-Gas Schemes, James Baker, Renewable Heat Engineer (both land and sea) and Lisa-Jayne Cook

a refrigeration engineer and along with Graham a board member of IOR Institute of Refrigeration

01:00 Graham describes how REFCOM was set up to provide quality environmental standards. Very interesting how the recovery of refrigerant used to be voluntary. He also explains the two tier system of

REFCOM F-Gas certification and REFCOM ELITE

02:19 Lisa explains the Institute of Refrigeration

03:55 James introduces us to the new term of “natural refrigerants” and the refrigerant propane which is now becoming a popular refrigeration gas for heat pumps.

We talk about propane in split systems and the regulations around this

06:02 EN378 safety regulations - quantity of refrigerant in occupied spaces.

06:15 James describes what a slit system is vs a monobloc. In a split the compressor and one of the coils is outside the property with two refrigerant lines joining it to the fan coil unit FCU within the property

07:20 Lisa discusses issues with the purchase of split systems and how important it is to employ professionals. And Graham explains the regulation behind a non hermetically sealed pre charged piece of equipment and fluorinated gasses.

10:00 The problems with online sales of equipment and DIY installation. Despite propane not being a fluorinated gas (F- Gas) there are still important regulations to consider e.g. Atmospheres Explosibles (ATEX) and DSEAR (Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations)

DSEAR risk assessments, room size and volume for flammable refrigerants.

13:15 The difference between and F-Gas and propane and a discussion on types of refrigerants. E.g R12, fluorinated greenhouse gases, global warming potential (GWP). Generally, the lower the GWP of a refrigerant the higher the safety implication e.g flammability with the hydro carbon propane and high pressure with CO2

17:25 James discusses another aspect of DIY installs of spit systems: their performance and reliability. How air and moisture are bad for refrigeration systems: e.g. acid and compressor burnout

20:14 Will HVAC engineers move to the renewable sector? Generation 5 of district heating with ambient loops

22:40 Diversity in the industry and apprenticeships

27:50 The refrigeration is a huge industry but little knowledge of it exists

31:00 How would you choose which heat pump to have based on its refrigerant. Different types of refrigerant e.g. 407c, 410a, R32 with lower flammability and a discussion around GWP.

32:55 Refrigerant leakage and Total Equivalent Warming Impact

36:50 CO2 as a refrigerant in mono-blocs or district networks.

39:20 The expense of heat pumps and makes

43:30 Hydrogen in homes...will it work

Support the show

Ladder and Step Ladder safety and common exam questions

John Cantor has been working with heat pumps since the late 70s and with refrigeration much earlier. He wrote his book along with Gavin DJ Harper (one of the BetaTalk guest battery experts) back in 2010 just before the renewable heat incentive came into play. He is joined by regular guests Ken and Steve who are big fans of John's pioneering work. It's a longer than usual episode so please use the chapter markers if you wish to find specific topics being discussed.
John's book is here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heat-Pumps-Home-John-Cantor/dp/1785007793/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=heat+pumps&qid=1626527840&sr=8-1

Support the show

The long awaited strategy was out this week and Nathan had the chance to chat with Matthew who heads up the electrification team.
BEIS have worked hard to pull this strategy together which is bound to please some and perplex others.
The boiler upgrade scheme is hot topic and "heat pumps" trended the day of the announcement.
Take a listen on the BetaTalk Podcast

Support the show

In this episode Nathan's guests myth bust heat pumps. He is joined by Bean from the Ground Source Heat Pump Association and Heat Pump Federation; Robin who is also from the GSHPA and Bill, a heat pump specialist. All 3 guests are engineers with a vast amount of knowledge with heat pump technology.
Heat pumps are a recognised technology for helping the UK decarbonise heat and reach net zero. Unfortunately, there does seem to be some myths about what they can and can not do.
Here are the myths around heatpumps we discussed:

1. Inverter driven compressors are more efficient than fixed speed compressors. Bill starts us off with this one. As you will hear, inverters are efficient but again it comes down to design. Different heat pump designs and applications may benefit from fixed speed compressors.
2. Heat Pumps are maintenance free and free energy. Kind of two myths rolled into one.
3. Heat Pumps need to run all the time. Robin starts this one off by discussing an energy savings trust study and Bill finishes with a German study on ground loops.
4. A high temperature heat pump can just replace a boiler. Again, you will hear, the guests discuss design. Low temperature heating is becoming more realised in the industry along with hydraulic design. Bean alludes to the new qualification the CIPHE are producing regarding this and also talks about some of the problems we find with underfloor heating (UFH) installation work
5. Heat Pumps only work in new builds. Bean discusses how as an installer he was installing heat pump systems into grade 1 and 2 listed buildings. The topic of hybrid heat pump systems is brought up. All guests and Nathan considered the fact that boilers are not needed as back up. In district heating systems it may make sense but we can design heatpump systems to not need boilers
6. Heat pumps only work with underfloor heating Robin discusses how some heat pump installations have been cancelled because of a notion UFH was needed for heat emitters. A problem especially in the non domestic sector
7. Fitting a larger ground loop fixes most problems with ground source heat pumps Again we hear the importance of hydronic design and understanding pressure drop
8. You need a room thermostat in every room to comply with building regulations and for efficiency How do we control heat pumps and comfort. Listen to Nathan's guest talk about weather compensation and other forms of control
9. Low Loss Headers should be used on all heat pumps Hydronic separation, flow rates and delta t is par for the course in this chapter
10. All heat pumps are noisy Will heat pumps make frustrate our neighbours?
    

Support the show