Homely Heat Pump Optimiser in London Across the UK
Smarter Heating, Lower Bills and Real Comfort at Home
If your heat pump is running but your heating bills are still climbing, the problem is usually not the heat pump itself. It is how the system is being controlled. The Homely Heat Pump Optimiser changes that completely. It is a smart controller built from the ground up to get the most out of your heat pump, whether you are in London, Orpington, Bromley, Kent or anywhere across the UK.
Most standard controllers send a simple on or off signal to your heat pump. Homely does something far more intelligent. It holds a continuous conversation with your heat pump, reading live data and adjusting flow temperatures, hot water schedules and weather compensation automatically. The result is a system that feels effortless to live with and genuinely cheaper to run.
Rising energy costs have pushed many UK homeowners to look harder at how their heating systems actually perform. With Homely installed by our certified engineers at Proton Energy, you get a controller that learns your home, understands the British weather and delivers consistent warmth without you having to think about it.
Upgrade to energy-efficient solar, heat pump, and HVAC systems designed to reduce energy costs, improve indoor comfort, and support a more sustainable future. From renewable heating technology to advanced cooling and ventilation solutions, Proton Energy delivers reliable, high-performance systems tailored for homes and businesses across the UK.
Homely watches the weather so you do not have to. It gathers data about your home, your heating preferences and the outdoor temperature, then adjusts your heat pump settings accordingly. Whether it is a cold January night in Orpington or a mild October afternoon in South East London, Homely keeps your home at the right temperature without any manual adjustments from you.
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Optimised Flow Temperatures
Running your heat pump at the right flow temperature is one of the biggest factors in how efficient it is. Homely calculates the ideal temperature for each moment of the day, reducing unnecessary energy use while keeping every room warm. Lower flow temperatures mean better efficiency, and better efficiency means lower bills.
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Save Up to 25% on Heating Bills
Compared to standard factory settings, Homely customers across the UK save up to 25% on their annual heating costs. That is a meaningful saving for most households, and it adds up year after year without any change to your comfort levels.
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Full Control from Your Smartphone
The Homely app puts complete control in your hands. Check how your heat pump is performing, adjust your schedule, or change the temperature from anywhere on your phone. Whether you are at work in London or on holiday, your home heating is always within reach.
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Straightforward Installation
Getting started with Homely takes around 30 minutes for a DIY setup. If you prefer to have everything set up properly from day one, our Proton Energy engineers cover London, Orpington, Bromley, Kent and surrounding areas and will have it running perfectly in a single visit.
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Better for the Environment
Using less energy does not just save money. It reduces the demand on the national grid and lowers your home’s carbon output. Homely helps you heat your home in a way you can feel good about, contributing to a cleaner, lower carbon future across the UK.
Homely Heat Pump Optimiser Installations Across London and the UK
Proton Energy Solutions is based in Orpington, South East London, and our team of certified renewable energy engineers installs the Homely Heat Pump Optimiser for homeowners throughout the region. Whether you are looking for a smart heat pump controller in Central London, a heat pump optimiser in Orpington, or an energy efficient heating upgrade anywhere across Kent, our team is ready to help.
We work with homes of all sizes and heat pump brands. If you already have a Vaillant, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Riello or MAXA heat pump installed, Homely is very likely compatible and can be up and running quickly. Not sure if your system qualifies? Just get in touch and we will check compatibility for you at no charge.
What exactly is the Homely Heat Pump Optimiser and how does it help my home?
Homely is a smart heat pump controller designed specifically for UK homes. Instead of simply switching your heat pump on and off, it connects to your system and continuously adjusts settings like flow temperature, weather compensation and hot water schedules. The result is a heat pump that runs more efficiently, costs less to operate and keeps your home at a more consistent temperature throughout the day and night.
How does Homely actually work day to day?
Once installed, Homely connects to both your heat pump and the Homely smartphone app. It monitors outdoor temperatures and learns your household’s heating patterns over time. Using that information, it automatically adjusts your heat pump’s settings to maintain comfort at the lowest possible energy cost. You can also set schedules, view performance data and override settings directly from the app at any time.
Will Homely work with my existing heat pump?
Homely is compatible with a wide range of heat pump brands available in the UK, including Vaillant, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Daikin and many others. We recommend checking the Homely compatibility list on their website, or speaking to our team at Proton Energy who can quickly confirm whether your system qualifies. We serve customers across London, Orpington, Kent and the wider UK.
How much could I realistically save on my heating bills?
Most Homely users see savings of up to 25% on their heating costs compared to running a heat pump on standard factory settings. The exact amount depends on your home size, insulation, heat pump model and how you currently heat your home. In almost every case, the savings over a heating season more than cover the cost of the controller.
How long does installation take?
Homely is designed to be simple to set up. A confident DIY installation typically takes around 30 minutes. If you would rather have a professional handle it, our Proton Energy engineers can install it during a single visit. We cover London, Orpington, Bromley, Kent and surrounding areas.
What are the advantages of using Homely?
Homely offers a number of benefits, including:
Save up to 25% on your heating bills
Enjoy a more comfortable home
Control your heating and hot water remotely from your phone
Optimised heat pump settings for peak efficiency
Effortless weather compensation and hot water scheduling
What is weather compensation and why does it matter?
Weather compensation automatically adjusts your heat pump’s output based on the temperature outside. On milder days your heat pump works less hard, saving energy. On colder days it ramps up to maintain your comfort. The British climate changes constantly, and weather compensation means your heating adapts automatically rather than running at a fixed setting regardless of conditions outside.
What is hot water scheduling and how does it save money?
Hot water scheduling lets you set specific times for your heat pump to heat your domestic hot water. Rather than keeping a tank warm around the clock, Homely heats your water when you actually need it. This targeted approach reduces standby energy losses and can noticeably reduce your electricity consumption over the course of a year.
Does Homely work alongside other smart thermostats?
Homely operates as a standalone smart controller and does not integrate directly with other third party smart thermostats. However, it offers a comprehensive feature set specifically tailored for heat pump control that most general smart thermostats simply cannot replicate. For heat pump owners, Homely is the dedicated solution that delivers the best results.
How much does Homely cost?
The cost of Homely varies depending on the model and whether professional installation is included. Get in touch with the Proton Energy team for a free personalised quote. We serve homeowners across London, Orpington, the South East and throughout the UK.
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Solar Panels
Proton Energy Solutions Ltd offer expert solar panel installations in Bromley, South East London & across Kent, London and surrounding areas. For those who care about the future and the environment solar panels are the most energy efficient solution you can utilise. They will cut your carbon footprint, cut your fossil fuel dependence and dramatically cut your energy costs. Take advantage of the suns energy for free and stop releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. You can massively reduce your reliance on the electricity grid to your long-term benefit.
Proton Energy Solutions Ltd only offer high performance solar panels that will give you the highest efficiency and longest life span combined with the lowest degradation of output over their lifespan.
You need to be careful considering efficiency as the most important feature of a solar panel. In fact what matters is real world performance, reliability, history and the warranty on offer.
HOW SOLAR PANELS WORK
They first utilise solar energy that is converted into DC power using the photovoltaic effect.
Light particles produced by the sun are called photons, they are the most basic, fundamental particle of light. It is these photons in natural daylight that are converted by solar panel cells to produce electricity. This small bundle of electromagnetic energy is constantly in motion. A solar panel works by allowing photons to bounce into electrons in the solar panel setting them free from atoms, generating a flow of DC electricity.
The DC power can then be stored in a battery storage system or converted into AC by an Inverter for direct use in your home. A solar panel system that is connected to the grid is known as on grid system. One that is also connected to battery storage is known as a hybrid system. These functions rely on the type of inverter you decide on.
Solar panels are made up of many silicone based photovoltaic cells (PV Cells) and these generate DC electricity directly from sunlight. These are linked together within the panel and are connected to adjacent panels with cables. The amount of electricity generated depends on solar panel efficiency, shading losses, dirt, ambient temperature and the installation orientation. They can still generate electricity during cloudy weather, but this depends on how much light can pass through the clouds.
Solar panel efficiency is a measure of the percentage of sunlight that the panel converts into electricity. The cell types are PERC, IBC and HJT and these can all provide efficiency of over 22% with outputs of over 400W per panel up to 600W depending on the panel size.
The N type silicone cells in all the panels we offer will lose no more than 0.25% of power output per annum over 25 years. They will still produce at least 90% of their output after 25 years.
THE ISSUES THAT MAINLY EFFECT PANEL EFFICIENCY ARE
Irradiance– This varies depending on clouds, latitude, time of year and shading. Slight shading over several cells can have a big impact on that solar panel and on the entire string by say 50%. This is because the elements are connected in series and the shading effect on one panel affects every panel. An add on device such as an optimiser or micro-inverter stops the effect being carried beyond the affected panel. In the UK there is a lot of diffuse light that is bounced off building surfaces and even clouds and this produces useful light for the production of electricity.
Orientation– If you have a large, un-shaded, predominantly south-facing roof space, you are fortunate as this is ideal for solar panels, either for heating water or for generating electricity. A south-west or west-facing roof would also be suitable, though a little less productive. Even a direct North roof produces 55% of the output of a South roof so all orientations are considered in the design of a system.
Temperature– The power rating temperature that solar panels are tested at (STC) is 25C . In sunny weather the internal cell temperature can be 20 to 30C above the ambient air temperature and the output is then reduced by 8 to 15%. The nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT) performance is tested at 45C. In colder weather with good levels of sunlight the PV cell output will increase. HJT cells are the best performing in higher temperatures with IBC close behind.
PERC CELLS
PERC solar cells improve cell efficiency by depositing additional passive coating and laser grooves on traditional cells. LONGi launched its mono-PERC modules in 2016, featuring integrated PERC technology on monocrystalline silicon and low light degradation. Its cell efficiency has increased from 21% to 24.06%.
Bifacial Solar panels
The vast majority of solar panels are monofacial, which means that they only generate energy from the front of the module.
Bifacial solar panels expose both sides of the cells to sunlight, increasing total energy generation. They use either a reflective backsheet or dual panes of glass rather than the opaque backsheet that is used in monofacial solar panels.
Most bifacial solar panels are frameless and are also a little thicker to ensure structural integrity.
Monocrystalline cells are used in bifacial solar panels as they are the most efficient. Combining monocrystalline cells with a clear path for the light to get through on both sides helps to generate more energy.
Bifacial solar panels can generate 30% more energy than monofacial solar panels.
As you would expect, the front of the panels still takes in the most sunlight but the rear is still able to generate anywhere between 5% to 30% of that absorbed by the front.
HALF-CUT MODULE TECHNOLOGY
Higher power & higher reliability: Traditional monocrystalline solar panels usually have 60 to 72 solar cells, so when those cells are cut in half, the number of cells increases. Half-cut panels have 120 to 144 cells and are usually made with PERC technology, which offers higher module efficiency.
Since the solar cells are cut in half, and are thereby reduced in size, they have more cells on the panel than traditional panels do. The panel itself is then split in half so that the top and bottom portions operate as two separate panels – generating energy even if one half is shaded. This means that if your home has some trees that cast shade onto your roof at certain times during the day, your entire solar panel will not be unusable, as it would with a traditional solar panel.
They improve the power output and performance of solar modules because they offer a higher shade tolerance due to their unique wiring system.
The key to half-cut cell design is a different method of “series wiring” for the panel, or the way the solar cells are wired together and pass electricity through a bypass diode within a panel. The bypass diode, indicated by the red line in the images below, carries the electricity that the cells generate to the junction box.
In a traditional panel, when one cell is shaded or faulty and does not process energy, the entire row that is within the series wiring will stop producing power. This knocks out a third of the panel. A half-cut, 6-string solar panel works a bit differently:
If a solar cell in Row 1 is shaded, the cells within that row (and that row only) will stop producing power. Row 4 will continue to produce power, generating more energy than a traditional series wiring because only one-sixth of the panel has stopped producing power, instead of one-third.
You can also see that the panel itself is split in half, so there are 6 total cell groups instead of 3. The bypass diode connects in the middle of the panel, instead of on one side like the traditional wiring above.
What is N-Type Mono?
How are solar cells made, and what is doping?
Silica sand is purified to produce silicon. After purification the silicon crystals can be exposed to minerals such as boron and phosphorous in a process known as doping, and then either melted and formed into bricks for cutting, to produce polycrystalline wafers, or grown into ingots for slicing with a diamond wire into thin monocrystalline wafers.
These wafers are then further treated to turn them into solar panel cells. Solar cells work by introducing a potential difference across the upper and lower layer – one surface has extra electrons while the other has a deficit creating an electrical field, and a fine conductive metal circuit allows electrons to flow between the layers when light photons hit the cell and displace the free electrons. This is what doping the silicon achieves. The wafers, whether sliced from a poly ‘brick’ or a mono ingot, will have a coating of doped silicon applied, which is the opposite to the doping of their base layer. This creates the P-N junction (positive/negative) which gives a solar cell its electric potential.
Positive p-type and Negative n-type
The most widely available kind of solar panels at the moment is based on cells where the main ingot and hence base layer is doped with boron. Boron has one less electron than silicon, which makes the cell’s base positivelycharged (hence P-type). The top layer is negatively charged (after having its coating of n-type silicon layer applied) establishing the potential difference outlined above.
N-type cells use phosphorous, which has one more electron and gives the base layer of the cell a negativecharge (hence N-type). These then have a coating of p-type silicon applied to create the P-N junction but by the reverse means. One thing this means is that the direction of flow of electrons is different for p-type and n-type panels. There are other differences though, that have a bearing on module performance.
Why does n-type lead to more power?
One of the disadvantages to boron doping is that boron reacts with oxygen which is a factor in cells and panels being more susceptible to Light Induced Degradation (LID). LID causes a solar panel to reduce in efficiency as a result of exposure to light – an amount of that degradation is expected and factored into the performance predictions on a panel’s datasheet and warranty. Phosphorous doping does not have this issue, meaning that n-type panels will have far better lifetime performance since they will degrade much less quickly. Output warranties on n-type panels therefore tend to be longer, and less steep in their decline, compared with p-type panels. Obviously, degrading less over their productive lifetime, makes n-type solar panels produce more power during that time overall than a p-type equivalent, even when their rated ‘nameplate’ output is the same. The graph above shows the additional warrantied power production our Jinko n-type solar panels would offer over their lifetime.
So why is p-type the standard?
N-type mono isn’t new – in fact the first solar cell made in 1954 was an n-type cell. P-type cells were found to perform better against radiation exposure though, and were therefore well suited to the use of solar in space – a lot of the early research and development of solar was intended for this application.
From that early point on, scale was in favour of p-type and n-type was reserved for use in premium solar panels. Many of the panels known for their efficiency by the likes of LG, Panasonic, Sunpower and REC use n-type in some form or another. Recently though, the lifetime power benefits of n-type mono and significant manufacturer emphasis on efficiency gains on monocrystalline cells in particular, mean that n-type mono is finding its way into mainstream products at lower cost.
Prices are already comparable to similar outputs in p-type products, and the slight uplift in up front cost is outweighed by more power (and thereby return) overall.
