Why Home Heating Will Never Be the Same Again @SkillBuilder

Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Ireland is pushing hard on renewable heating, and it shows. At the Pipe Life Renewables Academy, Mike Geary walks through how heat pumps and underfloor heating are changing the way homes are designed and retrofitted.

With solid government backing, better controls, and proper training for installers, these systems are proving they can deliver comfort, efficiency, and reliability.

The conversation digs into the differences between split and monoblock pumps, why low-temperature design matters, how Pipe Life’s kit is built to last, and what it takes to make rural homes work on an electric grid.

It’s a practical look at the challenges, the fixes, and the growing opportunities in sustainable heating.

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🔑 CORE HEATING TECH

Heat pumps

▶ Split systems (Hitachi partnership)

▶ Monoblock systems (Media partnership)

Underfloor heating systems

▶ Multilayer heating pipes (with EVO oxygen diffusion barriers)

▶ Bespoke underfloor heating design

▶ Floor screeding techniques for efficiency

Radiators

▶ Low-temperature radiators for heat pumps

▶ Retrofitting challenges with older, high-temp radiators

⚙️ SUPPORTING TECH

Pipe Life components & products

▶ Multilayer pipework (50-year guarantee)

▶ Tan-coloured Quex brand pipes (Irish market preference)

▶ Pre-plumbed domestic hot water cylinders

▶ Modular distribution/manifold systems

Controls & monitoring

▶ Weather compensation controls

▶ Smartphone app integration / remote monitoring

Ventilation systems

▶ Mechanical Extract Ventilation (MEV) for airtight homes

Complementary technologies

▶ Solar PV (photovoltaics)

▶ Grid feedback / export systems

Installation & construction methods

▶ Pipe insulation standards

▶ Correct pipe-laying patterns (avoiding air gaps)

▶ Managing expansion in concrete floors

▶ Prefabrication / modular solutions to reduce labour

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#renewableenergy #heatpumps #greenenergy

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$How to Fit a Rooflight on a Flat Roof | Get This Wrong and It Leaks 👇 TuffX Infinity Framed Roof Lights https://go.skill-builder.uk/tuffx Fitting a rooflight to a flat roof looks like the easy part of the job, and it is, right up until the upstand is wrong. Get the kerb right and the rooflight itself is a twenty minute job. Bead of sealant round the top, lower it on, screw it down. Get the kerb wrong and you are stripping felt off in the rain and starting again, which is exactly what happened to us on this one. In this video we fit a set of Infinity framed rooflights from TuffX onto timber upstands on a low pitched flat roof. We cover the kerb height and pitch these units need, both approved fixing methods, the sealant detail, why we ended up swapping felt for lead on the upstand, and what the glazing gives you once it is in. Infinity rooflights are fixed units designed for flat and very low pitch roofs, manufactured in the UK and supplied complete and ready to go on. Standard double glazed units give a centre pane U-value of 1.2 W/m²K, with triple glazed available down to 0.7 W/m²K. Frames are thermally broken aluminium, supplied as standard in anthracite grey or black, with other RAL colours available. If you are planning a flat roof extension or a garden room, the link above has the full Infinity range. KEY TAKEAWAYS - The upstand decides everything. Square, fully supported, minimum 150mm high, and pitched at a minimum of 5 degrees so water runs off the glass instead of sitting on it and collecting dirt. - Size the upstand for the finished covering, not the bare timber. Ours came up fractionally small once it was felted and the units sat proud. Stripping the felt back 80mm from the top and running lead around instead gave a thinner build-up and let them seat properly. - Two approved fixing methods. External fixing gets you watertight fast from above. Internal fixing with straps is the answer where external access is tight or you want the waterproofing left undisturbed. - Fixings are stainless steel, 60mm long, set in around 100mm and spaced at regular intervals, finished with anthracite caps to match the frame. Use packers so you do not distort the frame as you pull it down. - Sealant is a continuous bead on top of the upstand, applied before the unit goes on. If you are reaching for more silicone to close a gap afterwards, the kerb is wrong. - These units are heavy. We had four people on the large ones and two on the small one. Plan the lift before the sealant goes down, because once it is piped you are committed. - Performance is designed in rather than corrected on-site. Thermally broken frame, 1.2 W/m²K as standard, 0.7 W/m²K triple glazed, with sound reduction and solar control coatings available. - Standard sizes are stocked with typical lead times of three to four working days, bespoke sizes are available, and every unit carries a ten-year guarantee. WATCH NEXT https://youtu.be/i41oW85zPm8 https://youtu.be/T_mOHvaSKJU CHAPTERS 00:00 Dropping the rooflights on 00:25 Two approved fixing methods 00:35 External fixing and the 5 degree kerb pitch 01:00 Fixing through the frame 01:17 Internal fixing with straps 01:33 Why we stripped the felt and used lead 02:10 Getting the upstands square 02:33 Stainless fixings and caps 02:52 How many people you need to lift one 03:10 U-values and glazing options 03:40 The finished result 03:52 UK manufacture, lead times and guarantee 04:21 More from Skill Builder Building a flat roof extension this year? Tell us what your kerb detail looks like in the comments and we will have a look. TuffX Social links https://www.facebook.com/TuffxGlass https://www.instagram.com/tuffxglass https://x.com/tuffx_glass https://www.linkedin.com/company/tuffx-glass #rooflights #flatroof #extension #skillbuilder 👇 SUPPORT SB - BECOME A MEMBER https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9GdB6vG6m6cDAwrTAWXgyg/join 📪 JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER http://skill-builder.uk/signup 🛒 SEE OUR FAVOURITES ON AMAZON https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/skillbuilder 🎧 LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST https://blubrry.com/skillbuilder/subscribe 🎬 OUR VIDEO LIBRARY https://www.youtube.com/@SkillBuilder/videos 🔗 SEE EVERYTHING SB ON LINKTREE https://linktr.ee/skillbuilder https://www.facebook.com/skillbuilderchannel https://www.tiktok.com/@skillbuilder https://www.instagram.com/skill_builder (As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases) OUR FAVOURITE CHARITIES 👷 BAND OF BUILDERS https://bandofbuilders.org ⛯ THE LIGHTHOUSE CHARITY https://lighthousecharity.org 💧 CHARITY WATER https://www.charitywater.org$