What we have been doing
We have built and tested two prototypes so far, and filed our first patent application. The first prototype was an outdoor test rig in 2025. The second is being assembled now. Here is what each one was for, with photographs of both.
The first prototype
The first prototype was a test rig. We opened up a heat pump, added sensors, connected it to a test manifold and ran it on a driveway while a laptop recorded every reading.
It was not built to look finished. It was built to answer one question: how much of the heat a heat pump normally throws away can be moved into hot water instead.
We filed a patent application
On 14 June 2026 we filed a US provisional patent application on the part of the system that is hardest to copy. It is the refrigerant routing that lets a single line set run four modes, and that sends hot discharge gas straight into the thermal store instead of through a water loop first. The application number is 64/090,374.
A provisional application is a priority date, not a granted patent. It is never examined, and we have twelve months from filing to turn it into a full application. We are spelling that out because the difference is real, and because the number above is one anyone can look up.
- Application
- 64/090,374
- Filed
- 14 June 2026
- Office
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- Title
- Heat Pump System and Method for Multi-Mode Refrigerant Routing
- Status
- Provisional, pending. Not yet examined.
The second prototype
The second prototype uses hardware we designed ourselves. It has purpose-built enclosures, our own wiring and a control board, in place of the sensors we clipped onto the first rig.
This version is built to go into a real building rather than sit on a test bench. It is still being assembled and has not been installed in a home yet.
