See inside your heating network from the plant room.
Pulsiflo is a diagnostic test for communal heating and heat networks. It shows which risers are starved or over-supplied, finds open bypasses and oversized pump settings, and tells you what to fix first. No one needs to enter a single home.
Developed in Liverpool. Field trials and pilots start in 2027.
Most networks don't run as designed. Finding out why means knocking on every door.
Heating water should reach every riser and every flat in roughly its design share. In practice, bypasses are left open after flushing, valves stick, strainers clog and pumps run faster than they need to. Top-floor flats stay cold, return temperatures climb and energy is wasted.
The usual way to find these faults is an engineer with an instrument at every radiator or heat interface unit. In an occupied block of flats or a hospital that is slow, disruptive and often impossible, so problems go unfixed for years.
The faults Pulsiflo looks for
| Fault | What people notice | Typical fix |
|---|---|---|
| Open bypass | High return temperatures, heat wasted, plant running inefficiently | Close or repair the bypass valve |
| Starved riser or zone | Cold flats on one riser, often on upper floors | Clean strainers, check isolation and balancing valves |
| Over-supplied riser | Risers near the pump take too much water and starve the rest | Reset balancing valves |
| Stuck flow-limiting valve | Flow that doesn't respond to demand | Repair or replace the valve |
| Oversized pump setting | High pump electricity, noisy valves, low temperature difference | Reduce the pump speed or curve |
One visit to the plant room, not to every flat.
A Pulsiflo test uses the pump and heat source you already have. Sensors go on the outside of pipes in the plant room and communal areas, and nothing is drained or cut.
Plan together
1–2 weeks beforeWe collect drawings and plant details, agree a test window and operating limits with you, and issue a risk assessment and method statement.
Model the network
1–3 daysYour drawings and a short site survey become a model of the pipework. Anything the drawings don't tell us is flagged, not assumed.
Fit the kit
2–3 hoursClamp-on and strap-on sensors are fitted in the plant room and communal riser locations. No draining, no pipe cutting, no visits to homes.
Run the supervised test
1–2 hoursOur engineer runs a short test through your existing plant, usually overnight when demand is lowest, within the limits you agreed. Everything returns to its original settings at the end.
Analyse and confirm
About a dayEvery riser and zone is screened. Where a result is uncertain, we name the two or three spot-checks that will confirm it, rather than guess.
Review and report
1–3 working daysA qualified building services engineer checks and signs every report before you receive it.
Fix and re-test
After repairsYour team acts on the findings. A re-test gives you a before-and-after record of the improvement.
Timings are targets. We'll confirm them during field trials in 2027.
A report your maintenance team can act on.
Findings are ranked by energy, cost and comfort impact, each with the evidence behind it and a named fix.
Riser and zone screen
Each riser marked within range, likely starved, likely over-supplied or needing a check, with a stated level of confidence.
Ranked fault list
Location, likely cause, recommended fix and priority for every fault found.
Settings to apply
Recommended pump settings and balancing priorities your engineers can put in place straight away.
Savings estimates
Expected energy, cost and carbon savings for each action, so you can fund the fixes that pay back first.
Targeted spot-checks
The few confirming measurements worth taking, in place of a building-wide survey.
Evidence pack
A signed before-and-after record to support Ofgem reporting and performance improvement plans.
Ongoing monitoring
Planned: Pulsiflo Monitor will watch for new faults between tests and alert you before residents notice.
Extract from an example report
| Finding | Location | Recommended action | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bypass open | Plant room, header bypass | Close or repair the bypass valve | High |
| Riser likely starved | Riser 3 | Clean strainer, check isolation valve | High |
| Pump over-speed | Main circulating pump | Reduce pump setting | Medium |
| Risers likely over-supplied | Risers 1 and 2 | Apply recommended balancing settings | Medium |
| Result uncertain | Riser 5 | One clamp-on spot-check reading | Check |
Illustrative example matching the schematic above. Not from a real building.
How it compares with a balancing survey.
Pulsiflo tells you where to focus. Your balancing engineers still do the fixing, with far less time spent finding the problem.
| Conventional balancing survey | Pulsiflo test | |
|---|---|---|
| Access needed | Every flat, ward or office | Plant room and communal areas only |
| Site time, 100-home block | Several engineer-days, plus repeat visits where access fails | About half a day, plus a few targeted spot-checks |
| Finds bypasses, starved risers and pump over-speed | Only where an engineer happens to look | Yes, screened across the whole network |
| States its confidence | No | Yes, with uncertain results marked for checking |
| Measures every individual radiator | Yes | No, results are at riser and zone level |
| Hardware left behind | None | None after a test |
We report only what the measurements support. Results are given for risers and zones, not individual radiators. Where we aren't confident, the report says so and names the check that will settle it.
Built around the safety of residents and plant.
Every site starts with read-only logging. An active test follows only once the site has been checked and you have signed off the limits.
- Limits you agreeWritten into the method statement and loaded as a signed configuration before any test.
- Automatic stopThe test aborts on any plant alarm or lost signal and restores normal operation.
- Settings restoredOriginal settings return at the end of every test, and normal running is confirmed before we leave.
- Physical stop button and watchdogA hardware failsafe returns the plant to its original state if anything goes wrong.
- Plant safety devices untouchedPulsiflo never overrides boiler, heat pump or pump protection.
- Engineer on site throughoutTests run in a scheduled window with your competent person present, and avoid the coldest weeks.
- Hot water protectedDomestic hot water and legionella set-points are never reduced.
- Independent reviewOur safety case is reviewed by an independent chartered engineer before any live test.
Who Pulsiflo is for.
Heat network operators
Evidence that your networks perform, ready for Ofgem registration and the technical standards to follow, without entering every home.
Housing associations and councils
Find out why flats are cold and target repairs, instead of commissioning building-wide surveys. Supports your duties on damp, mould and excess cold.
Consultancies, commissioning and FM firms
A measurement service, and later a licensed tool, that cuts days of site time and proves your results to clients.
NHS and public estates from 2028
Diagnosis from the plant room with minimal disruption to wards and clinical areas.
Why it matters now.
Regulation
Ofgem has regulated heat networks since January 2026, and a Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme is planned to set minimum performance standards. Operators will need evidence.
Heat pumps
Heat pumps and condensing boilers need low return temperatures. A hidden open bypass costs more under a heat pump than it did under a gas boiler.
Warm, healthy homes
Awaab's Law extends social landlords' duties to hazards including excess cold from 30 November 2026.5
Energy costs
Lost heat and wasted pump electricity are paid for by residents through their bills. Finding the faults is the first step to lower tariffs.
Your data stays protected, and in the UK.
- UK-hostedCloud hosting in a UK region, with encryption in transit and at rest.
- Controlled accessRole-based permissions and audit logs on every test, review and report.
- UK GDPRA data protection impact assessment before every pilot, and a data processing agreement with each customer.
- Accountable resultsEvery report has a named signatory and can be traced to the data and model version behind it.
Built by people who have done the job.
Pulsiflo was founded in Liverpool in 2026 by a building services engineer and a software and AI engineer.
One has carried out water and air balancing across a live hospital estate and knows at first hand how slow terminal-by-terminal testing is in occupied buildings. The other has spent more than a decade delivering software for government and enterprise clients, with postgraduate research in machine learning.
Together they cover the hydronics, the analysis, the safety case and the site work that a trustworthy diagnostic needs.
Questions we're often asked.
Do you need access to flats or wards?
No. Everything is fitted in the plant room and communal areas such as riser cupboards. Any confirming spot-checks are taken on accessible communal pipework.
Will residents notice the test?
The test is short, runs when demand is lowest and stays within limits you agree. Hot water set-points are never reduced, and all settings are restored at the end.
Does it replace balancing or heat meters?
No. Pulsiflo shows where the problems are so your engineers can fix the right valves first. It works on networks that don't have full metering, and where meters are installed it can use their data too.
What kind of networks does it suit?
Our first focus is communal heating and heat networks with several risers and a pump that has a speed input. Hospitals, campuses and chilled-water systems will follow.
How accurate is it?
We are measuring that in field trials during 2027 against independent readings, and we'll publish the results. Every finding comes with a stated confidence, and uncertain ones are marked for confirmation.
How does the method work?
We share technical details of the method with pilot partners under a confidentiality agreement. Get in touch if you'd like a briefing.
Can I buy a test now?
Not yet. We're preparing for field trials and early pilots in 2027 and are talking to organisations who'd like to take part.
Host a pilot in 2027.
We're looking for heat network operators, housing providers and commissioning firms to host field trials and early pilots. If you have a network with comfort, cost or compliance problems, we'd like to hear from you.
Details of the Pulsiflo method are shared only with pilot partners under a confidentiality agreement.