After more than 20 years in his three-bedroom detached home in London, Trevor had gradually started making changes to improve its comfort, energy efficiency and environmental impact.
The Home: A three-bedroom detached house in London
The Homeowner: Trevor
The Solution: A tepeo heat battery boiler, installed in May 2023
Taking a step-by-step approach to a more efficient home
Trevor has always taken a methodical approach to improving his home.
Rather than tackling everything at once, he has renovated the property in stages, adding external wall insulation, underfloor insulation and double glazing, alongside upgrading the home’s wiring.
Each improvement was another step towards his longer-term goal: creating a comfortable, energy-efficient home with lower emissions.
By early 2023, Trevor was beginning to think about the next stage of that journey — his heating.
His existing gas boiler, which had been installed in 2017, was still working but had recently fallen out of warranty. Around the same time, Trevor received an email from his energy supplier, OVO Energy, inviting him to take part in a trial of tepeo’s heat battery boiler. The timing felt right.
“It just happened at the right time. I was already in the process of renovating my home, and the tepeo boiler fit perfectly into my plans to cut emissions for the future.”
Moving away from gas without replacing the whole heating system
One of the biggest advantages for Trevor was being able to move to electric heating while keeping much of the system he already had.
The tepeo boiler could work with his existing radiators and Hive smart heating controls, avoiding the need for a complete overhaul of his central heating system.
It also fitted neatly into a cupboard beneath the stairs, making good use of the available space in his home.
“I found it very difficult to keep the house warm in the past, but the tepeo boiler ticked all the boxes. It worked seamlessly with what I already had, without the need to retrofit a whole new system.”
For Trevor, this made the transition to lower-carbon heating feel like a natural next step in his renovation rather than another major building project.
A straightforward installation
Trevor’s heat battery boiler was installed in May 2023.
As the boiler stores a significant amount of heat, getting it into position required some careful handling, but Trevor found the overall installation process straightforward.
“The boiler is heavy, and it needed to be moved in carefully. But once it was placed under the stairs, everything worked smoothly. The team did a great job, and they kept me informed throughout the process.”
As one of the earlier homeowners to adopt the technology, Trevor understandably had questions about how it would work in practice.
He found the information and support provided by tepeo helped give him confidence ahead of the installation.
“The brochure and discussions with the team were very clear. I had some questions at first — naturally, as it’s new technology — but they were all answered.”
Smarter control over how the home is heated
Trevor’s home has already benefited from significant improvements to its insulation, helping it retain more of the heat generated by the heating system.
He also uses Hive thermostatic radiator valves to control temperatures in individual rooms, allowing him to focus heating where it is needed rather than heating every part of the house equally.
“I tend to heat certain rooms selectively, which works perfectly with the tepeo boiler. The hallway, kitchen and main living spaces are consistently warm and comfortable, and I don’t waste energy heating rooms I’m not using.”
The result is a heating system that works around the way Trevor actually uses his home.
Bringing solar, battery storage and electric heating together
Trevor has also invested in a 5 kW solar PV system and home battery storage, creating an increasingly integrated home energy setup.
His tepeo boiler can be charged when electricity is cheaper, storing that energy as heat ready to be used later in the day.
Trevor uses a time-of-use electricity tariff and typically schedules his boiler to charge during cheaper overnight periods.
“The ability to charge during the cheap rate and store energy is a huge benefit. Combined with my solar PV and battery storage, it’s a very effective setup.”
Through the tepeo App, Trevor can also monitor the boiler and adjust how much energy it stores depending on how much heating he expects to need.
“I monitor the boiler’s performance regularly through the App. It’s very easy to customise its charging levels. I typically charge it to about 90%, which gives me more than enough energy throughout the day.”
Supported through the early days of new technology
As an early adopter of tepeo’s technology, Trevor experienced a small number of teething issues during the initial trial period.
For him, what mattered was how quickly those issues were resolved.
“Any issues, like a component needing to be replaced or App adjustments, were handled quickly and efficiently. The support has been fantastic. I’ve always felt that tepeo cares about getting things right, and that makes a big difference.”
A heating system that fits Trevor’s long-term plans
For Trevor, installing a tepeo heat battery boiler was another step in a much bigger journey to make his home more efficient and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
After gradually improving the fabric of the property and adding solar panels and battery storage, moving away from a gas boiler allowed him to bring another major part of his home energy use into an increasingly electric setup.
Crucially, he was able to do so while keeping the familiar central heating system already in his home.
“The tepeo boiler has been a great addition to my home. It’s efficient, works perfectly with my current system, and fits with my goal of creating a low-emission future.”
Trevor’s experience shows how a heat battery boiler can form part of a wider home energy system, bringing together electric heating, smart controls, solar generation and time-of-use electricity tariffs.
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