Article produced by Wood Writes Words on behalf of Brimstone Energy
What alternatives to traditional heating are you thinking about for your home?
You’re here, so like many, we bet you’ll have saving money, going green and taking charge of your energy on your mind.
Maybe you know it’s time to get off gas.
Maybe you’re facing the prospect of a costly replacement of an oil boiler.
Or maybe, just like Neil and Kate Edgeley from Bedfordshire, you’re dealing with a temperamental biomass boiler, lots of maintenance, cleaning, and rising costs.
Using all their existing pipework, radiators and infrastructure, they’ve now electrified their heating with a tepeo ZEB, well in time for winter. They’ve said “bye bye” to biomass and “hello” to tepeo.
Read on and watch the video to find out about their story…
Kate and Neil, tell us about your home and your project
We live in Bedfordshire, in a 2-bed thatched cottage built around 1750.
There’s no gas supply in the village, so people have tended to have oil boilers with large storage tanks in their gardens. But when we moved in, our house had barely any heating – just two storage heaters and a fireplace. It was cold, needed sorting, and a thatched roof and a fireplace didn’t sit too well with us.
We knew we needed heating but knew we didn’t want oil. We ended up installing a biomass boiler, along with new pipework and radiators all through the house.
Kate, tell us about the biomass boiler
Don’t remind me, or I’ll start shaking!
Back in 2012, you could get a grant to help you install biomass. Along with this you got a reduction for a few years in the price of the pellets you burn in the boiler. It all seemed good, but it just wasn’t right for what we needed.
The boiler broke down due to corrosion, the electrical system wasn’t easy to sync and relied on a clunky workaround, and the ignitors seemed to time their regular breakdown with the first cold snap. On top of this, it was dirty and needed cleaning, along with regular refilling of the pellets – plus the price of those pellets has quadrupled over the years!
We needed an alternative.
So, moving onto better times… where did you first see the tepeo ZEB?
We saw the ZEB at an interior design exhibition. This was back in 2022, and it was very much a ‘new technology’ at this point.
But, for sure, I was interested in how it might work for us and I found out some information about how it worked and what was involved in installation.
So last year, while carrying pellets out to the garden in the freezing cold, we said that 2024 would be our last winter with the biomass boiler. It was time to properly look into switching to tepeo.
How did you start researching the tepeo?
The internet. Where else!?
I found the tepeo website, phoned them and started picking their brains. I was impressed with their answers and liked the idea of using our existing heating infrastructure – the tepeo ZEB was described as a ‘plug and play’ replacement.
It makes complete sense. You charge the ZEB as a storage battery – the heat is there waiting for you to call on when you need it, ready to send around your existing central heating pipes.
Did you look at other electric heating options?
We thought about Air Source Heat Pumps and electric radiators. Neither were right for us, mostly because they’d involve significant upheaval.
All of our radiators would need to be changed, and we’d worked hard installing the pipework and radiators years before – we didn’t want changing our heating to grow into a renovation project.
It was clear to us. The ZEB was the way to go.
How did you get in contact with Matt and Brimstone Energy?
We found the tepeoPRO installer map on the website and saw Brimstone were accredited and local to us. We’re in Bedfordshire, and they’re down the road near Huntingdon, in Cambridgeshire.
When we spoke to Matt, he said the size of our house seemed perfect for us to install the tepeo. He then came out to meet us, along with his wife SJ, and we talked the project through. They’d already replaced biomass boilers with tepeo heating, and we felt confident working with them.
Changing your heating can feel like a big deal. How did you get peace of mind that the ZEB was right for you?
Talking with Matt and Brimstone really helped. We were pleased to know our existing radiators were perfect for the ZEB.
There were also a few practical things to think about. The unit is a similar size to other white goods, so we chatted about the best place for it to sit. We also talked about the increase in our electricity use. Because our heating was now being electrified, we knew our overall usage would go up.
Matt and the team at Brimstone worked with us to find the best place for the new battery boiler, and then talked to us about off-peak tariffs to help save us money. Of course, we’d save by not having to buy biomass pellets anymore, just like others would save by removing their gas or oil.
Tell us about your tepeo system and the new price tariffs
Our tepeo ZEB sits nicely in our utility area, and Matt has just helped us access the tepeo app to track the heat battery storage and use.
The ZEB works with our old thermostat, so we won’t see any difference from our old way of calling for heat in the system. If we’re cold, we’ll just put the heating on as normal – the difference is we won’t have to carry bags of pellets to make it happen!
We’ve got a new electricity tariff with Utility Warehouse. There are off-peak price windows each day when using electricity from the grid is much, much cheaper. You can charge the full 40kWh ZEB capacity overnight, for hardly any money. Then, when you use it during the day, you’re using the stored electricity you paid very little for.
It’s good because it’s also got us thinking about when we set the washing machine or dishwasher!
How do you feel now it’s all done?
I feel relief.
I’m approaching winter with a completely different outlook. I won’t be waking up wondering, “Is the heating working?” and then have to go outside to try and sort it.
It’s done. It’s clean. It feels good.
New customers often want to know about working with Brimstone. Can you answer some quick-fire questions?
What was communication like?
Brimstone’s communication was quick, clear and personal. Matt wasn’t salesy, he came and gave us the information we needed.
How was the installation?
They did what they said they would, and it was quick, neat and tidy – it took less than a week. It’s now September, long before the cold weather, and the work is all done. We’re ready for winter in good time.
Would you recommend Brimstone Energy?
Yes, of course. No brainer.
And what’s your experience of working with tepeo?
Having a network of tepeoPRO accredited installers is good for customers.
The commissioning of the boiler was instant, the remote monitoring means they can see how our system is going, and we have Brimstone and tepeo to help us if we need them from this point.
And finally, what advice would you give to anyone thinking about the tepeo ZEB.
Go with tepeo. It works, and you won’t need to change your radiators.
Do think about the running costs and extra electricity use – remember to look into the off-peak tariffs.
Then, think about the bigger picture. For us, installing separate battery storage to give us more control may well be our next project with Brimstone. Matt and the team can help with all areas of low-cost, green energy.
From Matt Hilton, Founder of Brimstone Energy
Neil and Kate, it feels like you’ve got the heating system your beautiful house deserves. Thank you for trusting Brimstone Energy, and it’s great to hear you’re thinking about making more savings with battery storage.
You’ve worked hard modernising your home over a number of years, so we were pleased to be on hand to advise you and find a solution that kept your pipework and limited upheaval. We loved working with you on the project.
Watch the full story and more on YouTube:
Check out Brimstone Energy on YouTube to see more tepeo ZEB heat battery installations in action.
For any advice from Brimstone Energy or to get a quote, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.