How COP Angel Will Turn Smart Tariffs into Real Savings Without Sacrificing Comfort
COP Angel will turn smart tariffs into real savings - without sacrificing comfort. We’re designing a room-level control system that can pre-charge a buffer at cheap rates, then release heat precisely during peaks, keeping every room on set point while the heat pump rests. We’re entering prototype development and building a partner consortium with de-risked, grant-matched investment. If you’re an investor - or can add strategic value (test sites, engineering, supply chain, market access) - we’re interested to speak with you.
As the energy market shifts toward smart tariffs and dynamic pricing, many “smart” heat pump controllers are trying to ride the wave. They promise lower running costs by adapting to time-of-use rates, but most still rely on blunt tactics: preheating the home ahead of peak rates and nudging room temperatures above set point.
It can work, but it isn’t truly intelligent. Comfort drifts, efficiency drops, and the experience feels like compromise.
COP Angel is being designed to change that completely.
The Smarter Way to Use Cheap Electricity
COP Angel won’t preheat your rooms.
It will prepare your system.
Ahead of a peak-price period, COP Angel will be designed to raise the temperature of the system’s buffer tank during cheap-rate windows; not the rooms themselves. The heat pump may temporarily run at a higher flow temperature, but because energy is cheaper at that time, the overall cost efficiency will improve.
While the buffer temperature is being raised, COP Angel’s motorised radiator valves will be designed to throttle automatically to keep each room right on its set point. Even as buffer temperatures climb -potentially up to ~70 °C - comfort should remain steady because the valves will modulate to maintain return temperatures and keep room heat output perfectly balanced.
The intention: when electricity becomes expensive, your system already holds a store of high-grade thermal energy ready to be released; quietly, gradually, and intelligently.
Intelligent Discharge, Not Guesswork
Once the reduced cost tariff ends, COP Angel will be designed to switch the heat pump off and manage the controlled release of stored heat from the buffer into the system.
A network of valves and sensors will continuously read return-water temperature at each radiator. As buffer flow temperatures begin to dip, valves will open incrementally to maintain return temperature and match each room’s heat demand with the stored energy in the buffer.
The goal: smooth, stable comfort with the heat pump largely idle during the most expensive hour(s). No overheating, no wide temperature swings, and fewer unnecessary compressor starts - just precision control that makes every stored kilowatt count.
(With user approval, COP Angel will also be designed to pause selected rooms during peak periods to make the stored heat last even longer.)
Why Others Can’t Do It
Conventional “dynamic optimisers” don’t manage heat at this level of precision. Without room-by-room return-pipe feedback, they can only raise or lower global set points - often pushing more heat than is comfortable and wasting energy through uncontrolled dissipation.
COP Angel, by contrast, is being developed as a true closed-loop system: it will understand every radiator, every room, and the thermal relationship between them. It won’t just decide when to buy cheap energy; it will control how that energy is released at the most expensive hours of the day.
Efficiency Meets Comfort
Heating a buffer to ~70 °C isn’t the highest COP point in isolation. But COP Angel is being designed to perform this work only within the cheapest tariff window, improving financial efficiency. When prices rise, the compressor will stop and the home will coast comfortably on stored heat while valves and sensors maintain balance. As the store depletes, COP Angel will instruct the heat pump to resume at the lowest viable flow temperature to maintain set points - protecting both comfort and cost.
This is where COP Angel aims to stand apart: by combining economic timing, hydraulic precision, and thermal intelligence into one seamless control strategy.
The Future of Heat Pump Control
COP Angel won’t just be another “smart controller.” It is being developed as an adaptive energy system for how homes will use electricity in the future. As tariffs get more dynamic and grid flexibility grows in value, precise, room-level energy management will become essential.
By turning stored heat into managed comfort, not waste, COP Angel intends to bridge the gap between performance and affordability.
Others shift time. COP Angel will shift intelligence.
A control system that will understand both your home and your tariff, so comfort never costs more than it should.
A Vision Ready for Partnerships
COP Angel is entering the prototype development stage, based on a patented control method. Our system architecture and algorithms are being designed to deliver the optimal balance of comfort, efficiency, and cost - adapting to tariff changes without compromising comfort.
We are building a consortium of partners and releasing a limited tranche of equity to support grant-application match funding. Importantly, if the grant is not awarded, we will not call the investment, de-risking participation for investors at this stage.
We especially welcome collaboration with established smart-control manufacturers, distributors and heat-pump brands who see the value in COP Angel’s fundamentals. Contributors who bring strategic value and technical resources, test sites, supply-chain capability, or market access, will be treated more favourably in allocation and terms.
Join us!
If you’re an investor or strategic partner who wants to help shape a category-defining heat-pump control platform, get in touch to request our investor brief and learn how to join the prototype consortium. Together, we can validate, pilot, and scale COP Angel - and ultimately accelerate the adoption of heat pumps through smarter control.
COP Angel - There’s no better way to Control Heat Pumps
COP Angel is a patented smart control for heat pumps that continuously balances every radiator, sizes the system accurately, and lowers flow temperature without losing comfort. Unlike weather-curve controls, our closed-loop approach uses real return-temperature data to optimise COP, reduce running costs, and simplify commissioning. Ideal for new installs and retrofits where low-temperature performance matters most.
What if we told you... there’s a way to control a heat pump that it’s impossible to surpass?
Imagine a system that doesn’t rely on guesswork, external weather data, or user intervention - but instead uses real, measured system data to continuously optimise itself.
Automatically balances every radiator in the home
Why it matters: Properly balancing at low flow temperatures is notoriously hard because the temperature drop across each radiator (ΔT) is small; tiny valve tweaks can starve one room while over-feeding another. Manual lockshield balancing also drifts as rooms heat, doors open, and occupancy changes. By using return-pipe sensors inside the valves, COP Angel can see which emitters are under- or over-performing and continuously adjust each valve to equalise return temps, achieving true dynamic balance even at 25-35 °C flows. That improves comfort and cuts pumping and compressor work because heat is distributed precisely where it’s needed.Sizes the heat pump and radiators with precision
Why it matters: Oversized heat pumps short-cycle and run at higher instantaneous power/temperature, hammering COP and comfort; undersized systems risk cold rooms in peaks. Because COP Angel drives long, steady, low-power operation and reveals the real-world emitter capacity at low temperatures, it de-risks right-sizing. Early indications show the required kW can be lower than conventional specs, and existing radiators can perform better than expected when controlled this way - reducing capex and retrofit disruption.Continuously self-commissions
Why it matters: Traditional commissioning (balancing, curve tuning, thermostat settings) assumes fixed conditions. Homes aren’t fixed. COP Angel eliminates room thermostats and uses sensor feedback to keep adjusting valves and flow temperature automatically, so the system re-commissions itself as the house and seasons change. That means fewer call-backs, less installer skill dependency, and consistent performance over time.Reduces flow temperature automatically to match real-world heat demand
Why it matters: Heat pump efficiency rises sharply as flow temperature falls. Example lab data at 7 °C ambient shows COP ~4.59 at 35 °C vs ~3.11 at 50 °C - a >32% gain for the same heat output just by lowering flow temperature. COP Angel’s control logic constantly seeks the minimum flow temperature that still maintains setpoints, unlocking those gains in daily operation (not just in tests).Achieves the lowest possible flow temperature without losing comfort
Why it matters: Running too cold causes rooms to drift below setpoint. COP Angel avoids that by controlling room temperature via water temperature (not on/off thermostats) and by balancing emitters so every room gets its share. The result is steady indoor conditions with minimal ΔT across emitters, slower convective air movement, and higher delivered-per-kWh comfort.
That’s COP Angel - a patented smart control technology that’s rewriting what’s possible in heat pump performance.
Unlike AI-based or weather-curve controls, COP Angel operates as a closed-loop system, using built-in return temperature sensors to balance and fine-tune every radiator dynamically. It knows exactly which room is underperforming and adjusts until the entire system runs in perfect equilibrium. Why this beats weather curves:Weather compensation predicts what flow temp should be; COP Angel measures what’s actually happening in your emitters and rooms, then corrects it - so it works in real buildings, with real occupancy and internal gains.
The result?
Higher COPs (by running cooler, longer, and at lower compressor speeds), lower running costs, lower installer skill requirements, simplified commissioning, and a consistent user experience that’s simply unmatched. In lab examples, operating at 35 °C vs 50 °C delivers ~32% efficiency uplift, and further modulation down to minimum power adds ~13% more - pointing to 30-40% total savings potential when these effects are combined in practice.
We’ve shared COP Angel with manufacturers, distributors, and control developers across the globe. The feedback is always the same - "this is the future."
After successfully proving this with a digital twin, we are building the first hardware and software prototype.
The question is... who will be first to disrupt the market with it and bring heat pump technology to the masses?
#HeatPumps #SmartHeating #Innovation #EnergyEfficiency #COPAngel #HVAC #Renewables
Why Return Water Temperature Sensing Is the Key to Smarter Heat Pump Control
Revolutionizing Heat Pump Efficiency Starts at the Radiator
Discover How COP Angel Unlocks Up to 40% Energy Savings
When it comes to heat pump performance, the industry fixates on "efficiency." But at COP Angel, we ask a better question:
How do you know if every room is truly comfortable—and at what energy cost?
Most modern heating systems rely on guesswork: a central thermostat, a few sensors, and rough assumptions about how well the system is performing. The result? Overheating, cold spots, and wasted energy.
Our breakthrough: return water temperature sensing.
Every radiator tells a story. By measuring the temperature of water returning from each radiator, we know—in real time—how much heat a room is actually using. Our patented smart radiator valves (and underfloor actuators) turn this into a feedback loop that:
Eliminates the inefficiency of traditional thermostats
Enables dynamic flow temperature control
Achieves perfect room-by-room comfort
Boosts seasonal efficiency (COP) by up to 40%
This isn’t just smarter—it’s transformative. Especially in real-world homes with north-facing rooms, extensions, and inconsistent insulation, COP Angel adapts where others overcompensate.
In a heating industry racing toward intelligence, return temp sensing is the game-changer that bridges comfort and efficiency—without compromise.
Want to see how it works?
Follow our journey or get in touch to experience COP Angel.
We're not just making heat pumps smarter.
We're making them work better.
When it comes to heat pump performance, everyone’s talking about efficiency. But few are asking the right question:
“How do we know if each room is actually satisfied - and at what cost?”
At COP Angel, we believe the answer lies not just in smarter scheduling or more app features, but in something far simpler and until now, overlooked:
measuring the return water temperature at each radiator.
(And yes, we offer return sensing actuators for underfloor heating too.)
The Problem with Guesswork
Most smart heat pump controls today rely on averages - a single thermostat, a few room sensors, maybe some weather compensation, and assumptions about how well the system is balanced.
But assumptions cost energy.
Without knowing how much heat each room is actually using - or struggling to use - the system either overworks to cover cold spots or falls short and leaves rooms underheated.
This is where measuring the return water temperature becomes a game-changer.
What Return Temp Really Tells You
Every radiator emits heat into its room. The cooler the water returning from that radiator (compared to the flow temp), the more heat it's giving off.
So, if we measure the return temperature, we gain live, room-by-room insight into:
Whether a radiator is doing its job
How much heat each room is demanding
Whether the flow temperature can be reduced - and still keep rooms warm and at the desired temperature
This isn’t just a useful extra - it’s the critical feedback loop that allows a heat pump to operate with true intelligence and precision.
Smarter Control with Every Valve
At COP Angel, our patented control system includes a motorised radiator valve with built-in return water temperature sensing.
Each valve constantly feeds back live temperature data from the radiator return - not just the room - allowing:
Dynamic balancing across the home
Automated flow temp reduction based on the needs of the worst-performing room
Self commissioning without manual balancing
Maximised seasonal COPs, especially in older, unevenly performing properties
(In UFH systems, we offer return-sensing actuators too - providing the same granular control at manifold level.)
In plain English: the system gets smarter, more efficient, and more comfortable - on its own!
Why This Matters in the Real World
Many modern homes are retrofits. They have room-by-room idiosyncrasies:
large north-facing spaces, under insulated extensions, doors that are left open all day.
If your controller can’t see what’s happening at each radiator, it can’t optimise properly.
If it can’t optimise, it over-delivers - which means wasted energy and higher bills.
Return temp sensing flips this script.
Leading the Charge in Real Efficiency
In an industry racing toward smarter homes, we believe the future belongs to systems that don’t just respond - they learn and adapt.
Return water temperature sensing is not just a detail.
It’s a foundational piece of the puzzle - and the difference between reactive control and real intelligence.
Want to see how it works in practice?
Drop us a message or follow our journey at COP Angel - where we’re not just making heat pumps work.
We’re making them work better.
Melting Away the Waste: How COP Angel Slashes Heat Pump Defrost Cycles
Discover how COP Angel transforms air source heat pumps by reducing defrost cycles and improving energy efficiency by up to 40%. Traditional heat pumps often suffer from short cycling and unnecessary ice build-up, leading to higher bills and inconsistent comfort. COP Angel uses smart, patented controls to maintain steady heat, lower flow temperatures, and extend system lifespan — all while slashing electricity usage. Say goodbye to noisy whooshes and hello to smoother, smarter heating. Learn why installers and homeowners alike are making the switch to COP Angel.
Fewer Defrost Cycles, More Heat: How COP Angel Reduces Ice Build-Up
If you’ve ever stood next to a heat pump on a frosty morning, you’ve probably heard the unmistakable whoosh of a defrost cycle. It's a necessary part of the system — heat pumps extract energy from the outside air, and in cold, damp conditions, that can cause the outdoor unit to frost up. But what if your system is defrosting far more than it needs to? And what if that’s hurting both your comfort and your wallet?
That’s where COP Angel comes in.
Why Do Heat Pumps Defrost?
When the heat pump draws warmth from the air, moisture in that air can condense and freeze on the outdoor coil. To keep working efficiently, the system temporarily reverses itself to melt the ice — stealing warmth from inside your home to do it. That means less heating indoors, more energy consumed, and more wear on the compressor.
Some defrosting is unavoidable. But frequent or excessive defrosting is!
The Link Between Short Cycling and Frequent Defrosts
Almost all heat pumps in UK homes run at higher-than-needed flow temperatures. Without intelligent controls, they heat rooms quickly, shut off, cool down, and then fire up again — over and over. This short cycling doesn’t just waste energy; it disrupts steady-state operation and leads to:
Temperature swings
Unstable return temperatures
More opportunities for frost to form on the coil due to the heat pump working harder than necessary
More frequent defrost cycles
The solution? Steady, efficient operation at the lowest possible flow temperature— something traditional thermostats and control systems can’t achieve.
How COP Angel Keeps Your System Calm and Collected
COP Angel is different. It uses patented radiator valves (and UF actuators) with built-in return water temperature sensors, giving it a true picture of what’s happening in each room and each radiator (or UF zone).
This lets COP Angel:
· Balance the system dynamically – no manual lockshield tinkering required
· Lower the flow temperature gradually – until the worst-performing room is just right
· Avoid overshooting and short cycling – meaning your heat pump runs longer, steadier, and more efficiently
· Keep all room temperatures stable
Fewer Defrost Cycles = Better Comfort + Longer Lifespan
When your system defrosts less often:
You rooms are more stable – because your heat pump isn’t stealing heat to melt ice as often
You use less electricity – defrost cycles consume more energy than steady heating
Your compressor lasts longer – by avoiding harsh start/stop conditions
The system runs quieter and smoother – fewer interruptions, more stable heating
Bonus: Installers Love It Too
Installers also benefit — COP Angel helps commission a system faster, with less post-install support required. The self-balancing function saves hours, and the intelligent control means fewer customer complaints about cold rooms or “strange heat pump behaviour.”
The Bottom Line
Defrosting is a part of life for air source heat pumps — but how often it happens is something that can be minimised.
With COP Angel, your system runs steadier, smarter, and cleaner — giving you more heat, less ice, and lower bills.
The Myth of the Room Thermostat: Why It’s Failing Your Heat Pump
Heat pumps are rapidly becoming the go-to solution for low-carbon heating. But even the best heat pump will almost certainly, fall short - not because of the unit itself, but because it’s being controlled by outdated thinking. The heart of that problem?
The humble room thermostat!….. Read on….
Heat pumps are rapidly becoming the go-to solution for low-carbon heating. But even the best heat pump will almost certainly, fall short—not because of the unit itself, but because it’s being controlled by outdated thinking. The heart of that problem?
The humble room thermostat!
It might be smart. It might be wireless. But if your entire heat pump system is being switched on or off based on the temperature in just one room, you're missing the point—and likely missing out on serious efficiency and comfort.
Why Single-Room Control Doesn't Work with Heat Pumps
Most thermostats - smart or not - are designed to monitor just one location. That’s usually the hallway, or sometimes the living room. When that one space hits temperature, the heat pump shuts off. Sounds sensible, right?
Wrong.
Here's what happens:
That one room may heat up quickly (especially if it gets sun, or has larger radiators versus heat loss compared to other rooms).
Meanwhile, other rooms remain cold - bedrooms, north-facing rooms, poorly balanced system or those with larger heat losses/smaller radiators (in comparison).
The system cycles on and off, trying to chase an average that doesn’t exist.
Homeowners bump up the flow temperature or leave doors open, chasing comfort.
Efficiency drops. Comfort suffers. Bills go up.
This might have worked with gas boilers that blast heat into a system. But with heat pumps - especially ones designed to run low and slow - it's a recipe for disaster.
What About Multiple Room Thermostats?
Some systems try to fix this by putting thermostats in multiple rooms, each one capable of switching the heat pump on or off when its room is calling for heat.
At first glance, this seems better - but in practice, it often creates chaos.
Here's why it fails:
Each room acts independently, without awareness of what others are doing.
The heat pump keeps starting and stopping in short cycles - every time any room drops slightly below its setpoint.
This constant on/off cycling reduces efficiency and wears out the compressor prematurely.
The system never achieves a stable flow temperature or operates smoothly in weather compensation mode.
In colder weather, the flow temperature often gets set too high “just to be safe,” again undermining the whole point of a heat pump.
In short, multi-zone thermostats that each control the heat pump turn a sophisticated system into a chaotic one. You get no coordination, no balance, and no optimisation.
The Problem Isn’t the Thermostat — It’s the Logic
Today’s market is flooded with so-called “smart” thermostats. They offer Wi-Fi control, geofencing, learning schedules... but nearly all of them are either:
Single-point systems (failing to see the whole picture), or
Multi-point triggers (failing to coordinate or optimise heat delivery)
Either way, the heat pump is reacting, not thinking. And your comfort, efficiency, and energy bills suffer as a result.
The Better Way: Room-by-Room Intelligence
To make a heat pump work as promised, you need coordinated, dynamic control - the ability to see what’s happening in each room and adjust everything together.
That’s where COP Angel comes in.
Our patented system uses:
· Motorised radiator valves with built-in room sensors
· Return water temperature sensors on every radiator (or uf zone)
· Dynamic control algorithms that constantly adjust the flow temperature
· Room-by-room data to prioritise underperforming spaces—not just one hallway or rogue thermostat
This allows the system to operate in its sweet spot, avoid short cycling, and keep all rooms comfortable at the lowest possible flow temperature—exactly where heat pumps perform at their best.
Smarter Control = Lower Bills + Greater Comfort
With COP Angel, your system learns how each room behaves and balances heat delivery automatically. The result?
Better comfort in every room
Lower energy bills
Longer life for your heat pump
Fewer call-backs and complaints for installers
We are currently developing the solution and have proved concept via digital twin. We hold the UK patent and have international patent pending. If you are interested in investing in this game changing solution get in touch with the inventor here mike.kellett@copangel.com
Why Your Heat Pump Isn’t Delivering the Savings You Were Promised
Heat pumps are often marketed as the ultimate low-carbon, energy-efficient solution to home heating. And on paper, they are. With the ability to provide 3 to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity.
So why are so many homeowners and housing providers reporting disappointing savings?
The answer lies not in the technology itself, but in how it's controlled, balanced, and commissioned……..
Heat pumps are often marketed as the ultimate low-carbon, energy-efficient solution to home heating. And on paper, they are. With the ability to provide 3 to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity.
So why are so many homeowners and housing providers reporting disappointing savings?
The answer lies not in the technology itself, but in how it's controlled, balanced, and commissioned.
The Common Mistakes Undermining Your Heat Pump’s Efficiency
Even the most advanced heat pump will underperform if the distribution system around it isn’t designed or optimised properly. Here are three common culprits:
1. Poor Radiator Balancing
Most UK homes were originally designed for boilers, not low-temperature heat pumps. Boilers run at high flow temperatures—meaning radiators heat up quickly even if they're poorly balanced. Heat pumps, however, work best at lower temperatures to stay efficient.
If your radiators are unbalanced (which they almost always are), some rooms overheat while others never get warm enough. Installers often crank up the flow temperature to compensate, which kills efficiency.
2. Static Weather Compensation
Modern heat pumps often feature weather compensation—adjusting the flow temperature based on outdoor conditions. But here’s the catch: most systems use a static curve, set during commissioning. Once it’s set, it doesn’t respond to how your home actually behaves room to room.
Homes are complex—south-facing rooms get warmer, north colder, room occupancy, cooking, lighting etc all affect the demand. A one-size-fits-all curve just doesn't cut it. Without a dynamic control system, comfort suffers and efficiency drops. See our blog on this here- https://copangel.com/blog/why-weather-compensation-control-in-heat-pumps-must-be-dynamic
3. Generic Smart Thermostats
Most “smart” heating controls are not designed with heat pumps in mind. Many simply switch the system on or off based on a single room temperature—often the hallway. That’s no smarter than an old dial on the wall.
To truly optimise a heat pump, you need intelligent, room-by-room control that works with—not against—your heat pump’s low-temperature strategy.
The Smarter Way Forward: Intelligent, Adaptive Control
This is where COP Angel comes in. Our patented smart controller is designed specifically for heat pumps, with the following key innovations:
· Motorised radiator valves with built-in room sensors
· Return water sensors on each radiator to ensure balanced heat distribution
· Dynamic weather compensation that adjusts in real time based on actual room performance
· Room-by-room control to reduce flow temperature while maintaining comfort
By constantly analysing how each room heats up and adjusting the system accordingly, COP Angel reduces the average flow temperature—boosting your Coefficient of Performance (COP) and delivering even more savings your installer promised!
Why Radiator Balancing is One of the Most Frustrating Jobs in Heat Pump Commissioning
Radiator balancing in a heat pump system is vital and super challenging due to the lower flow temperatures. COP Angel balances automatically during commissioning and then dynamically as your house adapts to different loads and heat sources.
If you’ve ever commissioned a heat pump system in a property with more than a handful of radiators, you’ll know the feeling: hours spent fiddling with lockshields, endless trips back and forth between rooms, and the growing pressure to wrap things up—but still get it right.
Manual radiator balancing is often seen as a necessary evil. It’s time-consuming, imprecise, and easily undone by things completely outside your control.
Let’s take a closer look at why it’s such a pain—and why so many installers find themselves back on site days or weeks later dealing with the same cold rooms all over again.
It Takes Forever
On paper, radiator balancing seems straightforward. You open or close the lockshield valves to restrict or increase flow to individual radiators until the return temperatures equalise.
In practice? Not so easy.
Every single adjustment you make to a lockshield might take 15 to 20 minutes to show its full effect on the return temperature. And that’s assuming you’re in a stable system with no other variables changing while you work.
If you’re working with ten or more radiators—and you usually are—it’s a long, slow, and repetitive process. Small changes can lead to big swings. Overshooting, retracing your steps, going back and forth—it’s easy to lose an hour or more just tweaking one part of the system.
Balancing a Heat Pump System is a Whole Different Beast
With traditional high-temperature systems—say a gas boiler running at 70°C—you can get away with a lot more. Imbalances still exist, but the sheer heat output tends to mask them. A radiator getting slightly less flow still usually gets hot enough to satisfy the room.
But with a heat pump, running at 35–45°C (and lower), everything changes.
The system is designed to run efficiently at lower flow temperatures. That means there’s less margin for error.
A radiator that’s slightly underperforming on flow or return won’t just be “a bit cooler”—it might not heat the room at all.
So what was a minor issue in a gas boiler system becomes a major comfort complaint in a heat pump system.
In low-temperature systems, every mistake, every imbalance, every underflow is amplified. That’s why getting it right is so critical—and so difficult.
The Return Visit: “This Room’s Still Cold”
You’ve been there: the job’s done, paperwork signed off, customer happy… until they call.
“The small bedroom radiator isn’t heating properly.” “The bathroom’s freezing in the mornings.”
And of course, the installer gets the blame. You return to site, only to find that the flow temperature has been cranked up to 50°C to try and force heat through the cold spot—completely undermining the system’s efficiency.
You go back to adjusting valves. You re-balance. Maybe it works… for now.
But the real issue isn’t the installer—it’s the method.
An Outdated Practice in a Modern Industry
Manual radiator balancing comes from an era of static systems and simple boilers. Today, we’re installing advanced, highly efficient heat pumps that are sensitive to every change in the heating circuit.
Expecting a one-time, manual balancing job to maintain perfect comfort in a dynamic, real-world home is wishful thinking at best.
Installers are working harder than ever to hit performance targets—and being held responsible when systems don’t perform perfectly. But with balancing still done the same way it was two decades ago, we’re asking a lot and giving them very little.
Time for a Rethink?
Radiator balancing is a perfect example of an old method clashing with new technology. The process is manual. The results are temporary. And the pressure on installers to get it “just right” is increasing.
It’s not laziness or lack of skill—it’s the reality of trying to fine-tune a living, breathing system using static tools.
Maybe it’s time the industry looked for smarter, more reliable ways to approach radiator control and system balancing. Oh sorry, yeah- That’s COP Angel!
For more information on how COP Angel will automatically balance your emitters and commission your heat pump system, and then continue to do so dynamically as your loads change, email our inventor directly mike.kellett@copangel.com
Why Weather Compensation Control in Heat Pumps Must Be Dynamic
When installing heat pumps, installers are expected to commission them with efficient weather compensation settings. However, achieving an ideal weather compensation curve is virtually impossible. Here’s why.
Take my own home as an example. My heat pump, now 12 years old, features the original prototype of COP Angel. The house, built in 1842, has solid brick walls, and the radiators are designed to heat the home at the design temperature using a 55°C flow.
Right now, it’s 8:40 PM on Friday, March 14, 2025. The outside temperature is 5°C, and my current flow temperature is just 26°C; an impressive result, even for COP Angel. In January, I would expect this to be 5 to 10°C higher, and with a conventional weather compensation system (with thermostat and not open loop - that’s another story!), it could be another 10 to 15°C higher.
The Impact of Seasonal and Environmental Changes
So why is my flow temperature so low tonight? The answer lies in the dynamic factors affecting my home’s heat demand. By mid-March, we experience, on average, 3¾ more hours of daylight compared to January. Today was particularly sunny, meaning my solid brick walls absorbed and retained heat throughout the day. This residual warmth has carried into the evening, reducing the required flow temperature from the heat pump to just 26°C which is maintaining a comfortable 21°C inside the home.
But sunlight is just one variable. Other factors also impact the required flow temperature:
Cooking and appliance use - Ovens, stovetops, and other appliances generate residual heat.
Social activities - More people in the home means additional body heat.
Alternative heat sources - A wood burner or another heat source can supplement heating needs.
Wind - The windier the conditions, the more heat loss.
Why Static Weather Compensation Falls Short
A conventional weather compensation system operates on fixed parameters, assuming that a set flow temperature will always be required for a given outdoor temperature. However, this approach fails to account for real-world conditions. Static settings often result in heating systems producing water at 15 to 25°C above what is actually needed, leading to unnecessary energy consumption and reduced efficiency.
A truly smart controller - like COP Angel - must dynamically adjust to all forms of heat gains in real time, ensuring optimal efficiency and comfort. Without this adaptability, traditional weather compensation systems risk overproducing heat, wasting energy, and increasing costs.
Smarter, Room-by-Room Control with COP Angel
And the exciting news doesn’t end there. COP Angel is a patented technology that dynamically regulates the temperature in every room of your home, ensuring each space receives the precise amount of heat needed. By continuously adapting to changes in occupancy, solar gain, and other environmental factors, COP Angel optimizes comfort and efficiency—far beyond what traditional systems can achieve.
Welcome to COP Angel Blog
It all begins with an idea.
Welcome to the COP Angel blog – your hub for innovation, efficiency, and the future of heat pump technology. As the world shifts towards cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions, heat pumps are emerging as a key player in the transition. But are they being used to their full potential? At COP Angel, we believe the answer is no—and we’re here to change that. Our groundbreaking control method enhances heat pump efficiency by up to 40%, dramatically reducing energy consumption while maintaining comfort. Through our blog, we’ll share industry insights, technology breakthroughs, case studies, and expert discussions to help you stay ahead in the world of renewable heating. Join us as we redefine efficiency and push the boundaries of what heat pumps can achieve.