Heat Pumps: anyone have one/thought about it?

fish · 7 Sep 2023 at 00:04

Right, so our boiler has decided to go to the scrap heap in the sky which has us in a rather large dilema. A replacement boiler is going to be around 3k (oh joy) or the alternative is go absolutely mad, get an air source heat pump and solar/battery array installed and hope for a payback of less than 20 years. This would effectively mean us removing gas from the property altogether and moving over to fully electric.

The question i have is, does anyone have an air source heatpump in an older house and whats ytour experience with them.

Cheers

fish · 8 Sep 2023 at 13:41

Thanks for all the replies so far guys we are going to get and evaluation done on the property to see where we stand. Although the property is older we did a substantial renovation around 5 years ago and changed all the windows and upgraded the insulation significantly so I’m hoping that will help. We have 2 wood burners which if lit will heat the house fine on their own so t may be the push we need.

fish · 8 Sep 2023 at 23:25

Yep it’s 5k where it used to be closer to 10 I think

fish · 9 Sep 2023 at 10:34

We are going to have a survey done and then see what it’s going to actually cost in terms of upgrades.

fish · 9 Sep 2023 at 16:54

This is why we are thinking of a full ‘sod it’ and get solar panels etc at the same time if electricity is reduced then everything is. We are also in what I imagine to be our long term house I hope but having done a fair few renovations I’m not sure when the itch will resurface…

fish · 10 Sep 2023 at 01:00

My thoughts are in general more long term and environmental impact however, there are limits and I will admit that.

fish · 13 Sep 2023 at 13:31

Didn’t even think of octopus, I have just asked for an evaluation from them to see what the deal is.

fish · 13 Sep 2023 at 23:43

Just had a reply from octopus and they are not doing instals like we would need for the forseable so they are off the list. Survey being done on 5th oct, lets see what it throws up.

fish · 15 Sep 2023 at 16:17

when i looked i thought octopus said they didn't do loft installs. I may be wrong though

fish · 16 Sep 2023 at 11:46

I think that you have kind of answered you own question, gas prices etc will go up and become too high and unsustainable. How long this takes is anyone’s guess but given the age of the infrastructure and new estates not having gas I am not convinced it won’t be around a decade till the prices climb rapidly. The more people switch away the less there are to cover the cost associated with it. I know there are mix trials to add other gasses to the pipelines but how well will the older installs hold up to smaller gasses is anyone’s guess. The main thing I’m saying is no harm is getting a quote.

fish · 16 Sep 2023 at 19:19

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
Not just that, but one of the key things in the future will IMO become a certainty, and thats time of use tariffs will be the norm.
Octopus have been giving me free elec for 2 hour spells as there is so much renewable generation locally. As the renewables peaks go up and up then old fixed cost all the time model will have to change (again IMO) to encourage people to use the energy for eg water heating when the large spikes hit.
Nothing encourages people like a good dose of carrot and stick.

As more and more people dump gas completely the grid charges, will have to be recovered from fewer and fewer people. That will push more to move and you get a self feeding circle of ever increasing charges on fewer and fewer people.
The big unknown really is timing. Are we talking 10 years or 30 years, but IMO, it’s coming and it’s inevitable.

Exactly this, the only thing is getting the time right to jump. The reason for this thread is that we may be forced to move due to circumstances now.

fish · 17 Sep 2023 at 00:50

jonneymendoza said:
Have a lil search here. I actually made a thread regarding heat pumps and came to the conclusion that right now it does not make any sense to get one until my property is well insulated externally and that I get bigger radiators and solar panels

i did have a quick look and couldn't find much hence the new thread. I think the bigger issue with heat pumps is if you can stomach the cost in a long term house. currently we aren't looking to move and after 4 property rennovations woiuld like to staqy in a place for at least a decade. rooms have been insulated as they have been done and the heating system rads upgraded in the lasdt 5 years. Had we have known the boiler was so old it would have been changed also but thats on us for believing people.

fish · 17 Sep 2023 at 11:07

Worcester Bosch green star 18i

fish · 17 Sep 2023 at 13:36

henry hoov3r said:
Worcester do a one off repair which is about 350/400 quid including all parts and that covers a main heat exchanger as well. Wouldn’t it be worth going down that route.

Got a link to that? As it’s the main heat exchanger that’s had it

fish · 17 Sep 2023 at 13:49

Yes it is, it been cleaner out internally but still very inefficient could be sludge build up inside

fish · 17 Sep 2023 at 14:04

ripple?

mine just has a sustained 6kw output down from 17 last year

fish · 17 Sep 2023 at 16:27

henry hoov3r said:
Have you ever tried fitting a 250l cylinder through a loft hatch?

I did when I went to an invented cylinder. It was not fun, but it’s there

fish · 18 Sep 2023 at 10:40

henry hoov3r said:
The last one i did wouldn’t fit so we had to cut the ceiling out. That was a 250l.

I thought I was going to have to, but in the end it just about jiggled through. Then I cut a hole in the wall (loft conversion) afterwards for better access to make all the swearing absolutely meaningless

fish · 18 Sep 2023 at 22:59

do you mind if i am nosy and ask the square meterage you put in for the quote?

fish · 19 Sep 2023 at 00:38

thanks i was wondering on the limits of their system sizes