Electrically powered central heating?

Robert giles · 12 Feb 2022 at 18:15

Oops, thanks for suggesting I should re-read my physics textbook - I will. The word “warm” was obviously an error. However, the thing is that the small volume of air between the panes can’t contain enough water vapour to form anything other than the faintest condensation. The condensation that finally becomes unacceptable is caused by many cycles of air being drawn in through the unit’s leak when it’s cold and expelled when it’s warm, leaving a tiny amount of condensation behind that gradually builds up. I’m suggesting that an occasional blow through would set it back to zero, and only take a few minutes.

dlockers · 12 Feb 2022 at 18:34

Or just replace the blown panel.

robj20 · 12 Feb 2022 at 19:03

dLockers said:
Or just replace the blown panel.

That's what I do, they're so reasonably priced it's not worth faffing around with them. So easy to fit as well.

theone8181 · 12 Feb 2022 at 20:28

dLockers said:
Ok genius how about drill hole, then suck really hard, then quickly seal?

I didn't think modern double glazing was vacuum anyway, I thought it was argon or something like that.

dirtychinchilla · 14 Feb 2022 at 13:31

This is a hilarious thread. @tonys how did it work out for you?

tonys · 14 Feb 2022 at 14:16

It is working out OK. If people decide to install it you just have to be aware of the limitations of the system. At the minute we leave it on 19°c all the time as we are at home most of the time, the house does stay at that temperature during the day with some boosting depending on the temperature outside. As we are on Economy 7 tariff we are using more during the night and less during the day by leaving it on manual. Cost wise we used £220 (nov-dec) for everything and £258 (dec-jan). We recieved the RHI payment of £320/quarter this month.

SimonR · 15 Feb 2022 at 09:30

@tonys you said that your ASHP cost about the same as a Combi boiler. The average price of a Combi installed is around £2.5k and the average price of an ASHP installed is £13k. Am I missing something?. I dont know how big your property is, but our bill for gas and electricity in Dec was £287 for a 6 bed house with a 12 year old combi so I am not seeing any efficiency from an ASHP. In fact all I am seeing is a lot of negatives.
- More expensive to buy
- More expensive to run
- Slower to heat
- Lower overall heat output
- Needs a separate Hot water calorifier
- Has to be installed outdoors
- Less efficient the colder it gets
- Inefficient with standard currently installed wet Radiator systems

Can you educate me?

tonys · 15 Feb 2022 at 13:56

I did not say it cost the same to install, but at the minute with the rebate it is cheaper to run. I get £100 a month back so my running cost last month was £158 instead of £258. The rebate is every month so if you look at a summer bill of £77 I'm not actually paying for the energy. The fact was we were going to replace the boiler and l/pressure water tank in any case so part of the install cost was for something that was going to happen. Your points are valid but only you can decide if it is worth it for you. I was talking to a mate who is a heating engineer who used to install a lot of a/c systems said that they are supposed to be efficient, the LG unit I have works best from -5°c to 7°c, which is normally the range of a British winter. We are at home most of the day and so need the house to be moderately warm (19°c). The fact that it is outside is just the same as if you had an a/c unit. Do you actually need to have a hotter supply, you can turn down a gas boiler to lower the output temperature.

sad099 · 15 Feb 2022 at 15:12

tonys said:
I did not say it cost the same to install, but at the minute with the rebate it is cheaper to run. I get £100 a month back so my running cost last month was £158 instead of £258. The rebate is every month so if you look at a summer bill of £77 I'm not actually paying for the energy. The fact was we were going to replace the boiler and l/pressure water tank in any case so part of the install cost was for something that was going to happen. Your points are valid but only you can decide if it is worth it for you. I was talking to a mate who is a heating engineer who used to install a lot of a/c systems said that they are supposed to be efficient, the LG unit I have works best from -5°c to 7°c, which is normally the range of a British winter. We are at home most of the day and so need the house to be moderately warm (19°c). The fact that it is outside is just the same as if you had an a/c unit. Do you actually need to have a hotter supply, you can turn down a gas boiler to lower the output temperature.

HI

Interesting info, thanks for that
We are looking to do a self build shortly, depending on costs, approval etc, and i believe we have to as part of that have Air or Ground source heating, (new sustainability regs etc) we cannot install a standard gas boiler. Who did you go through for installion etc.
Also any tips / advice on the process or what to watch out for when getting quotes etc.
Thanks

tonys · 15 Feb 2022 at 15:28

Install was done by Renewable Tech Ltd, but you may have one local to you. They needed to know our gas usage for the previous year to set up the RHI payments, as you are doing a new build, it may be they assume how much you will be using. I don't know what form of system you would be using(radiators or u/floor) so costs will be different. Try and get at least 3 quotes if you can and itemised. You may be able to do some of the work yourself and just get them to install the heater unit.

melmac · 16 Feb 2022 at 12:08

Interesting thread.

Anyone here ever get the Carbon Foil infrared underfloor heating system installed? As an alternative to a normal central heating system?

russell664 · 16 Feb 2022 at 15:06

Our next door neighbour had a ASHP installed.

It is very noisey - So much so that I have to close the window when I sleep. You can also hear the vibratons through the wall in the bathroom (Semi Detached).

I loathe the thing.

It looks silly stuck up on the wall like that as well.

Foghorn Leghorn · 16 Feb 2022 at 16:17

russell664 said:
Our next door neighbour had a ASHP installed.

It is very noisey - So much so that I have to close the window when I sleep. You can also hear the vibratons through the wall in the bathroom (Semi Detached).

I loathe the thing.

It looks silly stuck up on the wall like that as well.

This would be one of my bigger worries (aside the fact it's more expensive to run than gas central heating) I live in a very quiet road and the hum I've heard from the external units would be very intrusive.

russell664 · 16 Feb 2022 at 16:21

I measured it, at its peak it was 45-60db. When it was very cold.

This was using calibrated equipment from where I work.
Made me very annoyed as I couldn't sleep!
If it is loud in summer, my garden music will be loud to drown it.

tonys · 16 Feb 2022 at 19:08

It's the same type of unit a/c use so are you against them aswell?

Foghorn Leghorn · 16 Feb 2022 at 21:00

tonys said:
It's the same type of unit a/c use so are you against them aswell?

If it's noisy and intrusive then yes.

theone8181 · 17 Feb 2022 at 06:16

tonys said:
It's the same type of unit a/c use so are you against them aswell?

A/c isn't exactly common in the UK in a residential environment.

Nasher · 22 Feb 2022 at 08:22

The heatpump idea isnt going to work, not unless the government pays for it all to be fitted. Also they are too noisy in a garden. If they turn off the gas everyone would just go and buy plug in heaters as its a fraction of the cost long term.