A heat pump, solar array and battery can all be specified correctly and still cost more to run than they should. The difference is the control strategy, and it is designed from the outset rather than configured at the end.
A whole system has more than one controller. Our engineers set the ones that decide how the system performs, and those stay as they are set — adjusting them is the most common reason a well-designed system starts costing more to run. What you control is comfort: temperatures room by room, schedules and the performance and diagnostic data in the app, at home or away. That side of it relies on a stable Wi-Fi connection, which is why it is part of the design and not an afterthought.
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Integration
BMS & Modbus supported
Monitoring
App-based, as standard
We specify
Ecoforest · Warmup · Maxa
VAT on qualifying work
Zero-rated to 31 March 2027
The heat pump controls are the brains of the heating and cooling system. They are commissioned by a trained engineer to the manufacturer’s recommended settings for your building. They govern the flow temperature the heat pump produces, how it adjusts to the weather, hot water production, the legionella and defrost cycles, surplus solar and smart-tariff integration.
Those settings stay as they are. They are specific to your heat loss, your emitters and your cylinder, and the system is proven against them at commissioning. Changing them is the most common reason a system starts costing more to run or stops reaching temperature, and restoring them is a chargeable visit.
What you adjust is comfort: the thermostatic controls for radiators, underfloor heating and fan coils, room by room, at home or remotely. Which rooms are zoned and how they are controlled is agreed at design stage, so it is built in from the outset rather than worked around later.
Runs cooler and more efficiently in mild weather, working harder only on the coldest days. It is set at commissioning and fine-tuned at the annual service, so it shouldn’t need changing day to day.
Single zone or multiple is decided at the outset, since it sets the pipework schematic. Many systems run as a single zone on one thermostat. Some on multiple zones with different emitters and controllers.
The system eases off when power is expensive and holds inside your contracted cheaper tariffs without you touching anything.
When the array generates more than the house is using, the heat pump absorbs the surplus into stored hot water rather than exporting it.
App-based monitoring lets you see what the system is doing so you can provide us with important diagnostics and fault codes remotely should problems arise.
Legionella bacteria thrive in stagnant water and die above 60°C. A heat pump heats water to 60°C+ on a fortnightly schedule to eliminate bacteria. It performs this function during off-peak hours, logging cycles for service verification.
Ecoforest
Built into the heat pump rather than added alongside it. It manages weather compensation, solar surplus, tariff scheduling and smart tariffs, without a separate diverter box or additional wiring. It’s the reason a hybridised Ecoforest system needs less hardware than the equivalent assembled from separate parts.
Maxa
Maxa supply three wall-mounted controllers, and which one we specify depends on the system.
A four-inch colour touchscreen with Wi-Fi built in, controlling heating, cooling and hot water, with climatic curves for weather compensation, daily and weekly scheduling, and real-time diagnostics. Pairs with the My Maxa app for setpoints, modes, schedules and live and historical energy data.
Replicates the same on-board functions over Modbus with its own room sensor, for a single unit where app control isn’t needed.
Manages a cascade of units and can act as a central controller for a network of heat pumps and chillers. Integrated humidity sensor and dual setpoint control suit underfloor systems where cooling forms part of the design.
Underfloor Heating
Warmup offer a range of controls, with the 7iE at the top of the range. A colour touchscreen thermostat with app access. Whatever level we specify, the controls are hardwired into the underfloor system rather than relying on a wireless link, so zone demand reaches the heat pump directly. Because Warmup produce the pipe layout room by room, the control zones and the pipe zones are designed together rather than one fitted over the other.
Radiators & Smart TRVs
Smart thermostatic radiator valve systems have made room-by-room control possible on a radiator system without re-piping. They work well with a heat pump provided they’re set up as limiters rather than as on-off switches, closing radiators off reduces the emitter surface available and pushes the flow temperature up. Some third-party systems were designed around boilers and control by switching, which isn’t how a heat pump wants to run. We’ll tell you which will work with your system, and configure the ones that do.
BMS Integration
Where a building has a building management system, or is getting one, the heat pump can be integrated into it. Modbus is available as standard across the Maxa range, and the e-Lite and Hi-TV415 controllers communicate over it, so plant status, setpoints and operating data can be read and written from a central system. This is most often relevant on light commercial projects, schools and community buildings, where the heating is one of several systems being managed together.
App Based Monitoring & Contols
Solar and battery systems vary more than heat pumps do. What can be adjusted depends on the equipment and how it has been configured, but almost all come with an app that lets you monitor generation, consumption and storage, and control the settings that are yours to change. As with the heat pump, the settings that govern how the system performs and how it connects to the grid are made when commissioned. What you are left with is visibility: what the panels are producing, what the house is using, what is held in the battery and what is going back to the grid. We show you which settings are yours at handover and we can see the system remotely when you need us to look if you spot a fault.
Heating system controls form part of a qualifying MCS certified heat pump installation and fall within the scope of the works. Qualifying installation work is zero-rated for VAT until 31 March 2027.
Controls aren’t separately funded by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, but the specification of the controls is what determines whether the grant-funded heat pump delivers what it was designed to.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant towards an air or ground source heat pump, plus 0% VAT on qualifying work.
No, but you’ll save more with one. Weather compensation, zoning and solar hybridisation all work on a standard tariff. A time-of-use tariff adds the ability to shift consumption into cheaper hours, which is where the additional saving comes from.
Yes. App-based monitoring and control comes as standard on the systems we specify, showing what the system is doing and letting you adjust it. We can see the same data remotely, which means we have something to work with when you report a problem.
Only the system performance data and only to support the system. We use it to diagnose faults when you notify us and to check the system is holding its design efficiency at your annual service.
It means the system adjusts its flow temperature to the outside conditions rather than running at one fixed setting. In mild weather it runs cooler and more efficiently, working harder only on the coldest days. Set correctly, it’s what delivers the rated efficiency year-round.
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Zoning, tariff scheduling and monitoring needs all shape the wider system design. Tell us about the project, or book a design survey directly.
Prefer to talk it through first?
We design renewable heating systes around your home and the way you live.
Prefer to talk to us first?
Call: 01271 850 040
Whether you’re looking to book a service or ask about diagnostics, it starts with understanding your project.
Prefer to talk to us first?
Call: 01271 850 040
