Learn How to Lower Gas Bills and Improve System Performance 

I make hot water cylinders but your knowledge of systems is from another planet. Im impressed.

You seem to know your stuff and unlike alot of people i have met you go through every thing and tune it all perfectly.. i wish more gas/plumbing people had your detailed work ethics.

It's a shame there's probably quite a lot of houses wasting so much gas with poor/broken heating controls. Nice job on this one though

I can't even begin to imagine the bag of wiring nightmares you had to sort out there well done great job 👍👍

Love your work and thanks for another great video👍Sorry for a rant, but its Sad! They didn't worry about how wasteful they were until it started to really hit them in the pocket. The Government shouldn't be subsidising people like this on their energy bills and certainly not giving them £5K off a heat pump. The subsidises should be, to pay for heat geeks like you, to tweak and help improve the energy effeciencies of the needy.

Came across your channel a week ago and pretty much binge watched all your videos. It so good to see some who takes the time to design and setup the systems correctly especially on the control side. I'm an electrician by trade but work as a consultant now. Heating controls were always of interest and make all the difference. Love your work. Cheers. Matt

Very rewarding work there. Outstanding results for your customers further down the line. They will make back what you charged them in a few months!

Brilliant insight into identifying the system issues and also the solution logics put in place.

Brilliant! Got to be the best engineer I've seen,..... bar none Keep up the great work

Lovely work! It’s amazing that when people install these systems they don’t think about their efficiency. Your clients are lucky to have you!

This is one of the best HVAC channels I've found. Very very good presentation and detail in these videos. Very informational. I live in Colorado, USA. Good stuff brother! :-)

Be great to see a Video of you changing the Flow Meters on the UHF and see what that can achieve in further Efficiency.

Well done. Love people that know what they are doing.

Now that gas is so expensive, investing in efficiency is a no-brainer. We converted to Honeywell Evohome controls in 2018 and the 1st year savings more than paid for the £700 investment. I’ve also fine-tuned the heating curve and temp. offset (system has weather comp.) to the point that flow temps are at the absolute minimum required. The only downside is that the motorised radiator controllers sporadically need batteries changed around 1x per year - rechargeable batteries are a must!

Love these videos. Great 👍

That one hurt my brain . Well explained and filmed again. 👍🏻👍🏻

Many thanks for sharing this and also thanks to the property owners for allowing their property to be used as a case study. Looking at your proposed saving of 20,000 kWh every year - heat generated within the building has to escape somehow - either the building is maintained at around 30C (unlikely) or they regularly dump heat by opening windows (possible but they probably haven't called you in to close windows for them) or the Ideal Heating boilers are both losing an average of over 1 kW continuously every hour of the day for 365 days a year - assuming they are set up for 90% combustion efficiency the majority of this heat must be leaving the building through the flue. I have an Ideal boiler and I can't work out how it is even possible for it to be so inefficient - they can't just 'lose' heat - do you have any idea how these Ideal boilers can perform so badly?

Looking forward to the results.

I'm glad you remembered to set the boiler to after the Solar PV diverter's peak generation window during the day :)

I'm gutted you're not up north, we'd absolutely have you in to do our heat pump. Your videos are phenomenally well done and even me as a plumbing idiot can understand them.

Well done, Szymon! No doubt the home owners are happy!

Good luck with the wireless NeoAir’s. I’ve converted from old 12v wired to these with UH8RF wiring centre for a few years now. I regret. The RF signal is really weak and can sometimes fail, causing a 12min an hour firing of the ‘missing’ zone on the wiring centre. The batteries don’t last as long as claimed on the NeoAirs. If you take batteries out for too long, the stat forgets channel and zone setting, you need to set it again. I hope you have left instructions to the owners how to do that just in case it happens when they change batteries. In my small house and normal partition walls, I have had to add a NeoPlug as a signal repeater. I have a question. When you have programmed zone thermostats, do you need weather compensation on boiler? Set it to always condense, each room stat will react individually and won’t use anymore heat than the schedule required.

dude you are an amazing light to me. fancy balancing my rads in bedford? the engineer here never bothers. . combi boiler downstairs and drops rads. is it 20 degrees per rad?

You are very good in your knowledge and the way you explain, have seen a few of your videos , do you or can you look or think about doing a small solar system with a small windmill combination to some how heat your home , I have a small house with a large garden and feel a little bit of solar and a small solar system would suit me but not much money available and wondered if you would or could do a do it yourself system to show people that you don’t have to buy a big system that you could do a bit at a time easy add on system, the answer is probably no but you never know if you don’t ask then you always wonder and it might give you a thought to do something different you strike me as a man that embraces a challenge.

Are there many properties spilling that much gas per year which stayed "unnoticed" until gas prices get through the roof ?

I'll be interested to see what the figures are next year 👍

look forward to the update video ;-)

I am considering secondary circulation. My idea was to have a motion sensor in the bathroom to trigger the pump. That way it’ll only run when you’re likely to use the hot tap.

Brilliant video's, I live in a static caravan with a Morco 24ED LPG combi boiler. I've just installed a hive thermostat as had none before, any advice on how to make more efficient ?

Another great video as always 👍

Great job as always! They'd save even more if they lived somewhere more suitable for 2 people; it's a funny world where 6 people live in a 2 bed flat and can't afford to heat it, and others can afford to heat 500 litres of hot water constantly and waste most of it. They might even live just 2 streets apart... looking forward to seeing the results all the same!

People like you should be training and monitoring the numpties that put that system in.

Another very good video film. Well done. Unrelated question:- Having seen several of your videos:- Why the Ear Defenders ? You seem to mainly work in Domestic properties, is there a lot of work-based noise ?

Absolute Master.. can you do a vid on how to wire the weather comp in to these systems. Would like to start doing this for my customers. My business is based in Bedfordshire. Thanks

Monster job for sure. Most plumbers don't like the look of 2 zone valves and an s plan, let alone having to simplify that lot to work properly. Do they still get some reasonably warm water out of the far sinks with intermittent recirc?

Does the Eddi not have a relay that can be used to interrupt the ‘gas’ system demand? Everything I see about tends to assume that the hot water will only be heated by the ‘free solar’ , but surely the more common use will be along with a primary circuit? Great video. Good to see a guy who cares about these things.

Can you please make your ideal vogue hot water priority video available. I could really do with the wiring diagram. PS your content is unreal. I love your system design and your explanation as to why you have chosen a specific design based on your customer’s needs. Thanks

Top class video!

Did you left the grundfoss pump to run at constant speed. Wouldn't the constant pressure be better

Love your work and videos. Have you published a video on calculation of heat loss. I used to have an official software for doing it 20 years ago

Been watching your videos for a while now and I like your work quality and attention to getting the figures right and most efficient. I was wondering, would you recommend a system boiler for an S Plan system. I've had an Alpha HE SY25 running for the last 16 years and it's getting tired now. It's used alongside a Heatrae sadia Premier Plus Unvented 150. I'd like to go all bells and whistles but we are moving in the not too distant future but still feel like while winter is on a better boiler may be needed and I'm topping pressures back every now an then. Your advice would be very much appreciated.

speaking on efficiency, I have a hot water Cylinder 'S plan', running on Nest Learning 3 controls (thanks to your videos by the way) - boiler is a Potterton Promax HE Plus but an older model. while it was recently inspected as part of my boilercare plan and came out fine. would there be any benefit in installing a new boiler? this one was installed since flat was built in 2006.... I am thinking perhaps a newer boiler would be much more energy efficient and take less to heat up the tank...

Great video Szy! I went to a customer's house with a very similar issue, it took me ages to figure out their system and what was going on, how long did you spend figuring this one out?

Brilliant analysis and fix Szy. And you managed it without slating ideal boilers! The really depressing thing is how the last plumber (definitely not a heating engineer) managed to leave the system in such a state without even testing that things were functioning sensibly. Was it a complete install or has it been modified over the years to become that complete mess?

its interesting to see how you work across the pond compared to new york

I love that you are using Heatmiser controls. You could have used a Grundfos auto-adapt secondary return pump; it may be worth a try next time. Great work!

Wow that’s a massive improvement! Question, I currently have a Nefit Topline 30kW boiler for heating and hot water. Would it be beneficial to add a hot water cilinder in the system? Considering energy prices I’d like to get everything as energy efficient as possible.

Hi what do you think of the VSmart control system. is it the best one to use ?

Your customer must be chuffed to bits. Impressive work. Once you get the new flow meters and assuming the original design data sheets are not available - how are you going to optimise the flow rates without spending another couple of days? Excess flow may have been one part of the overshooting issue in any of the heated spaces.

again your amazing

I need a new system planning in North Birmingham on a property of this size. You seem to be the oracle of heating. Any advise on where to start?

Are we due a follow up on this job?

I think mine has a faulty zone valve on dhw, find pipe going to tank getting warm when no demand on it.

So, any updates on consumption, now we've had a few months with significant cold spells?

My man’s a genius

Awesome video! What a set up and love the innovation you brought to the party! I have exactly the same boiler, how easy was the weather comp to fit? Is it good, would you recommend it? Did you use the Ideal version? Cheers

Do you do heat loss calcs on these upgrades or do you guess?

How important is it to Drain Down the second Cylinder, in addition to just isolating the 2nd Cylinder Boiler Flow Loop and Cylinder Cold input or Output ?

I’ve been a plumber and heating engineer for 20 years you make me look like an apprentice. You don’t learn this stuff from college or other engineers. Please tell me how you learnt make me want to improve!

Hi, Would you be able to wire my underfloor heating, and other zones controls please?

Any tips, on how to save on wooden pellet burner/boiler? I have 2 loops, 1 convection loop in the basement. 1 loop for ground and first floor which has a pump. Hot water is via serpentine, stealing heat, from the relatively small boiler storage. Pump doesn't have an abv... All radiators have a trv, but 1 or 2 are left open... I have a thermostat and automatic outside temp compensated shunt, regulating the pumped radiator temps... i.e. during night, heating is off...

My house is fairly large but I only need to run the hot water circulation for one minute for it do it’s job.

What is your go-to contactor/relay if you don't want to swap the HW valve on a S plan when converting to PDHW?

Which wiring Centre and Room Stats did you use for the UFH ?

If you had junked the Ideals and installed a single Viessmann 200W, your client's savings would have been even higher and would have paid for the boiler in a year.

The big bang theory moment reminded me of a few times switching on cooker circuits.

Some cheap smart motion sensors and relays would be a good upgrade for the secondary return, place something like a Sonoff or Shelly motion sensor above the door in each bathroom/toilet and a smart switch controlling the circulation pump then set up a simple automation to run the pump for a couple of minutes when motion is detected. By the time you've finished your business the pump will have run and the water should be hot at the tap ready for use so you get maximum benefit and minimal losses pumping it round when you don't need it. You can also use a button rather than a sensor for places like a kitchen that will be in constant use but doesn't need it recirculating constantly.

This sounds like rocket science to me, an ordinary member of the public. The comments show that you are an exceptional engineer. I wish someone like you had installed my daughter's new boiler. She is on a low income and ill. She applied for a grant and was asked to pay a percentage of the costs. She has an old water tank in the airing cupboard for hot water. Instead of installing a new combination boiler, they replaced it with an older model non combination, which has left her with an old inefficient system. Can you give any advice? She can only get hot water when the heating is on. All summer she had no hot water, and had to boil it in the kettle. The company who installed it didn't explain this and not bring an expert and living alone didn't realise what was happening. They are no longer interested in her as the job is completed.

Do you calculate heat loss of building for the minimal temperature of the year? -2 feels more like a average temperature durung december/january. At least in Czechia we calculate heat loss to -12, -18 depending on the place where you live. I am also confused about energy consumption. If you have 20 kW heat loss, isnt the energy consumtion for one day calculated -> 20kw x 24hours = 480 kwh? But you said, that this house consumes 260 kWh durint a day (and you said it is insane amount), so I am a bit confused. Anyone, please reply and explain this to me. Thank you

I had no idea hot water and heating systems could be this complicated. Do average plumbers understand these systems, I can't imagine they do?

Their system looked beautifully installed, it's a shame it wasn't commissioned correctly!

Amazing to think that the bill payer was simply paying those huge bills for so long. At least they finally got around to sorting it out but the amount of gas that was wasted is disappointing. And who knows how many other properties are similarly wasteful!

Very interesting. I consume nearly Kwh 50,000 of gas for a much smaller house (3,000 sqft and approx 500 sqft is not heated). 41kw Worcester Green Star CDI on 67 degrees temp. Despite having evohome on 12 zones I still have a huge consumption 🤔 I am not far from you too 😊

I know a way to save money on gas….. take the gas meter out and bypass it or just stick hoover on one end and watch it spin backwards

is there a follow up for this episode?

Good stuff. Not sure about the background music though; distracting.

🤘😎🤘

Thanks

WoW!! Do they mine crypto???

that house uses 260 KWH a day???? My house is 3300 sq ft I heat all of it with Mitsubishi Hyper Heat Pumps all ductless, a heat pump hot water heater self contained, a hot tub also. on my worst days in January Im at 125 KWH.. I still have to add fiberglass batts in the attic but i did every upgrade to this house efficiency wise. We used to be electric baseboard heat. that was horrible..

If the heat loss is 20kW @ -2C what is the expected daily heat requirement in kWh? 20*24=480kWh which cannot be correct!

What has happened to the heating industry this install was very very sad indeed until you.

The video was a year ago. Any update 😁😁😁

Damn, I wished you covered W12 as need a Nest unit fitted to an old S Plan system.

Two people in a gaff that big!!!!

Always wondered what Joey Tribiani was doing now😂

Underfloor heating gives you a great chance to use a condensing boiler at super-low condensing temperatures. Unfortunately all gas boiler manufacturers installation manuals wrongly instruct us to set the return temperature to dew point (56ºC) or lower, which is incorrect - it should be the FLOW temperature. Even one of the best boiler makers, Viessmann, shy away from correctly directing the flow temperature to be set below the dew point ! Why do they do it, when customers could save gas bills by making the boiler condense genuinely, instead of spewing white vapour clouds into the garden? They are stupid commercial reasons that lead to this madness. If Worcester Bosch for example told the truth about setting low flow temperatures: 1. Installers would clog the phone lines claiming it was wrong ! 2. Competitors would falsely claim their boilers condense even with return temperatures of 56ºC ! 3. Customers would complain that the lower flow temperature require bigger radiators than a competing boiler, and they might lose sales over it ! So as usual, the unsuspecting customer loses out with unnecessarily high gas bills. The step change of 11% efficiency improvement with gas condensing technology only occurs if the water vapour literally DOES condense on the heat exchanger. Otherwise an old style non-condensing boiler can achieve exactly the same efficiency levels - yes, really. So the entire drive across Britain to install condensing boilers (and their tiresome condensate drains) is wasted. Just wasted. To get anywhere near to that 11% fuel benefit, the ENTIRE heat exchanger must be below dewpoint. There are two critical changes that the installer must undertake, AGAINST the manufacturer's recommendations: a) reset the Natural Gas gas valve from 10+% excess air to around 2% excess air. This raises the dew point temperature back to close to 56ºC making the whole effort more achievable. You can't work sensibly with a dew point of 46ºC, can you? b) set the FLOW temperature as far below 56ºC as you can manage. This engages 100% of the heat exchanger's surface area in the battle to condense the flue gas, instead of chucking that valuable white vapour out into the garden. Here's another glorious example of Vsmn having to drop down to Level Stupid, just to remain competitive in the British market here. This poor sodding German fella Christian Engelke, the Technical Director of Vsmn UK, writes in a frustratingly oblique manner about the need for Class B residual current detectors on ALL gas boilers & tumble dryers (instead of curve B Class AC) here: www.dropbox.com/s/4p7e3rs2fsawsdd/21%20ViessmannTypesRCD.pdf?raw=1 where the boiler's installation manual explicitly states that your bog standard UK RCD type A or type AC will not function for any modern gas boiler. Just think how many gas boilers around the UK are disabling the RCDs around Britain by saturating their magnetic cores. Households are then left unprotected against genuine faults to Earth ! www.dropbox.com/s/apskmekx49xo9vo/21.01%20vdmontageexcerptrcd.pdf?raw=1

Any update?

why have a boiler run on 50 degrees for underfloor heating? that is a waste of energy as well. and you can remove the pumps and change the manifolds over to pumpless.

Why Ideal Logics?, thought you were a Intergas man!

cool

sry I stopped viewing the video after you said that the water heater turns on once a day for 2 hours. Why? Why do you need electronic thermostat for that? Why not use a regular thermostat inserted in the water boiler and that one triggers the gas boiler to heat the water when it gets bellow lets say 45 degree.

What on Earth was the previous installer thinking?

Let me just say, after watching many of your videos, you are working with people who have had no regards to their energy prices until now. Let’s see you do the same in a worker’s home

Hi How I can call you please

260kwh per day :O

Another interesting video! Not teaching you how to suck eggs, but i always fit a pipe stat wired through the DHW circulation pump, so that on a properly installed secondary hot water loop as soon as the pipe stat gets up to temperature it stops the pump, it then runs the pump for very short periods as the temp drops on the stat. You may have done this, just didnt notice.

Why do we need hot water priority systems? I have my heating on different times to my hot water.

20kwh of energy usage a day man they really need to increase there insulation a lot . It should be no more than approximately 5kwh a day max

Ha ha ha, bang test :)