This is a new page I have added today to share my own experience about heat pumps, given this is the government direction to reduce the renewal of gas/oil boilers.

It was back in 2007, that my then Powertech Solar Ltd business started to install UK made heat pumps, followed by imports of a ducted heat pump from China.

One of those heat pumps I installed in my loft as a back up to my gas boiler, if it stopped working, or back up in spring to autumn to my solar thermal system.

Its Thursday the 31st of March 2022, the day before home energy costs will increase by around 54% plus the increase in standing charges. This is a wakeup call to everybody including every business that uses electricity, heat and hot water to deliver a product or a service.

 My updates will continue for around 4 months, so keep checking in.

Its now Easter Monday the 18th April, and this gives me some spare time to add further to my initial comments. Last week I completed the sale of one of my Multi Fuel Thermal Stores that included being heated by a heat pump, along with solar thermal, to reduce the running of the heat pump outside winter heating periods.

What I have discovered with my New redesigned vented Thermal Store these past weeks, is as the mains water warms up due higher ground tempertures heated from the sun, i can have a nice hot shower in the morning with the store at 50c.

What this now shows me, is that my open vented thermal store that delivers the hot water at mains pressure indirectly through 2 stainless steel coil exchangers is the same as if the HW was flowing direct from an unvented cylinder.

All other Thermal Stores have to opparate at a temperture at 70-75c, as they offer no cold water pre heat sector.

Why is the important ?

A: the majority of heat pumps are designed to operate at 45-55c max, but with a unvented cylinder, the water in the cylinder has to be boasted to above 60c to stop legionella. With my ThermoSolar open vented store, this is not an issue, as the HW is provided on demand indirectly like a Combi Boiler.

The store water is secondary and is circulated across a number of devices just to heat the water only.

Another concern for those checking their new electricity bills, with a further increase by Autumn, is a heat pump is designed to run 24/7, due to the slow heat up times, which is required for the heating season, but not just to heat a cylinder of HW, when solar thermal can cover 80% of late spring/summer HW needs.

For those looking to offset the running costs of heat pumps and increase the life span, invest in a Solar PV system, but use the excess outside your daily use as a heat dump.

I can now offer a Cold Water Pre heat Loft thermal store fitted with an immersion heater, so the excess PV output can be dumped through the Immersion heater via a boaster device to as hot as you set the thermostat.

I will create some schematics and write ups over the next weeks and months to demonstrate how solar thermal or solar PV can reduce the running costs of your heat pump and boasts the lower temperatures for your HW needs.

If you want to discuss this with me, feel free to drop me a line at

I will add to this, as time goes on