Posted by: @editor

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Looking forward to Transparent’s insights once the dust settles…

Top story on Apple News Today (must be a slow news day):

APPLE.NEWS "https://apple.news/ADO62YXTARdmrTBAjNcgHRw"

Heat pumps 'pay monthly' plan to make them more affordable

An extension of this approach being talked about is to make loan payments via salary sacrifice on pre taxed income as a tax free benefit which would help one cohort of consumers. 

Posted by: @transparent

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Posted by: @jeff

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Doubling of annual allowance for distribution network spending. Sounds a lot to me.

Yes, it's far too much money.

DESNZ will no doubt wish us to reflect on the positive aspects of such expenditure...
... but it's got to come out of our pockets over several decades, as we pay back the commercial companies who are being permitted to saddle us with this debt.

What we really need is an Industry Regular who is charged with the responsibility to act in the best interests of consumers....

I don't think there is any real consensus or buy in yet on what is the "best" so we are a long way off an Industry Regular then being truly charged.

I personally wonder if the costs and wider economic and social impact in the UK have been vastly underestimated?

still not fully convinced everyone needs a heat pump. Storage heaters are a sound technology, suited to a lot of property especially flats. A small flat just cannot justify spending stupid money on heat pumps.

Gas boiler can be very efficient, but not when coupled to S or Y plan though. Needs to be reasonably low flow temperature to get efficiency via condensing.

Biggest improvements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions come from not using energy, so insulation.

Posted by: @Anonymous

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still not fully convinced everyone needs a heat pump.

...

Nor should you be, @johnmo. The pathway set out is one of moving away from fossil fuel heating and heat pumps are only one way of doing that. Sadly, the publicity of the deadline to stop selling gas boilers has morphed in the public consciousness to the idea the only alternative to a gas boiler is an air source heat pump and that's clearly not accurate.

Unfortunately, the public debate about interchangeability between boilers and heat pumps has also become very muddied. The fact heat pumps are not ideally suited to historic buildings with little scope for the fitting of modern insulation doesn't mean they can't work in those situations and certainly doesn't mean they're not appropriate for the vastly more common modern(ish) homes. Similarly, just because heat pumps in well designed systems can economically replace a boiler in many homes doesn't mean they can be fitted in all homes. The nay-sayers and the evangelists are each guilty of using polarising and flawed arguments to support their viewpoints.

One of the biggest - and largely ignored - shortcomings to heat pumps is the simple fact they can only service domestic hot water in conjunction with a hot water tank or other related heat store. As such they can't provide a direct replacement to a combi boiler and so aren't appropriate for any home which doesn't have the space for a tank or similar. Of course, you can easily heat the home with an air to air system instead but we still have to take showers and baths. Given how many people live in flats, this is quite a considerable problem for which I have heard few good suggestions; in fact, the only one I know of is an electric combi boiler which will only ever be practical and economically viable once the leccy prices are decoupled from the price of gas.

Personally, I'd like to see a lot more in the media about practical community heating setups. They seem to me (non-expert that I am) as a potentially very good way of servicing the heat and DHW for many of the flats and city homes that aren't suitable for a heat pump.

@majordennisbloodnok Systems such as those offered by Kensa (and I feel sure, by other companies too) would appear to be quite an elegant system for community housing, blocks of flats etc. and as you say perhaps need more extensive promotion and consideration. As many readers will know, our DHW needs are served via a Sunamp Thermino unit and we have solar panels to provide much of the energy required much of the year. I suppose community housing and flats might also consider joint useage of roof and/or wall mounted solar collectors for electricity and heating DHW.

I have seen promotions for roof top wind turbine schemes that are being considered too. Regards, Toodles.

Posted by: @toodles

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Sunamp Thermino unit

But if heated by immersion does not comply with the grant rules as it states heating and DHW need to come from heat pump. Think they withdrawn the low temp version.

@johnmo Ours is powered from solar energy (with grid back up); the Myenergi Eddi is in control of this factor. I did question eligibility when having surveys as I was applying for the (then) £5.000 BUS grant. My installers assured me there would not be a problem. My grant went through without a problem. Perhaps Left Hand v Right Hand? Regards, Toodles.

Posted by: @toodles

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Ours is powered from solar energy (with grid back up); the Myenergi Eddi is in control of this factor. I did question eligibility when having surveys

Here on the Forum we're going to need to be increasingly aware that the regulatory system is changing.

Things that we had done, even just a couple of years ago, might no longer fall within 'the rules'.

Installers also have a vested interest in telling customers that they can implement a particular approach.
They want to take your money, even if you've asked for something that is in the 'grey area' of grant conditions.

The Kensa Heat the Streets initiative is a case in point, which has been caught up in new regulations.

It's a relatively new approach, much of which is attractive because of the very affordable monthly finance and maintenance package, rather than the technology.

However, heat networks now fall within the remit of NESO.
That is underpinned by the Energy Act (Nov'23) and became effective when NESO commenced operating in Oct'24.

I want Kensa to succeed, but NESO will be acutely aware that many estate-wide community heating systems are of poor quality.
Houses further from the central heat-sources sometimes get supplied with tepid water,
and equipment faults can leave hundreds of dwellings without heating or hot water for weeks at a time.

There are numerous stories from a heat network in Peckham, which seems to generate more hot air for the local press than it does for the residents.

The regulations need tightening, but without negatively impacting innovation from the likes of Kensa.

Ain't consumerism wonderful!

Just because EVs could be a part of the solution doesn't mean all EVs are good. Greed seems to be universal and it never ceases to amaze how many ways there are for unscrupulous companies to flip the bird at people trying to do the right thing.

The first press reporting is out Here's a brief synopsis from Spanish media:

The big Blackout El Apagón: