Heat Pumps: anyone have one/thought about it?

b0rn2sk8 said:
They use 3.6 to 5 times less energy.

So say a heat pump was getting a SCOP of 4 and used consuming £500 in electric to heat a house, an electric combi would use £2000 in electric to do the same job.
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I see, so it's similar to solar in that it costs a bunch up front but pays off eventually.
But most people don't have that cash to spare, so they don't do it and therefore it's an unrealistic strategy.
Ofc renewable leccy should be plentiful and therefore cheap, if we could unlink leccy from fossil fuel prices we could give everyone leccy combi boilers?
 
throwaway4372 said:
I see, so it's similar to solar in that it costs a bunch up front but pays off eventually.
But most people don't have that cash to spare, so they don't do it and therefore it's an unrealistic strategy.
Ofc renewable leccy should be plentiful and therefore cheap, if we could unlink leccy from fossil fuel prices we could give everyone leccy combi boilers?
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There is a £7500 grant available for installing a heat pump. The upfront cost is often cheaper than installing a gas boiler.
 
throwaway4372 said:
I see, so it's similar to solar in that it costs a bunch up front but pays off eventually.
But most people don't have that cash to spare, so they don't do it and therefore it's an unrealistic strategy.
Ofc renewable leccy should be plentiful and therefore cheap, if we could unlink leccy from fossil fuel prices we could give everyone leccy combi boilers?
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Sort of but not really, you are comparing the cheapest way to heat your house vs by far the most expensive.

A heat pump is marginally cheaper than a gas boiler to run at normal price cap prices. Gas is a fair bit cheaper than oil which itself is a lot cheaper than direct electric.

So if you already have a gas boiler, there will not be a ‘payback’ like solar. It is still a cost like using gas to heat your home, the cost is just slightly smaller.

However, retrofitting is expensive, that’s why there is a huge £7.5k grant and it was cheaper for me to install a heat pump than a new gas boiler in my house.

You can save more money if you mix in time of use electric tariffs, then heat pump can reduce it’s costs further. Solar and batteries can reduce the cost even further but obviously they have an upfront cost.

The carbon savings are absolutely massive though, even if using the dirtiest grid electricity we have in the U.K. and that’s only getting cleaner.
 
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There's also other benefits, the one I really like is pretty much every proper review has said how much warmer the house feels, and therefore more comfortable. It may not be actually warmer, but it feels it because the fabric of the house all warms to the same temperature, and your not getting rapid changes in temperatures (it's a constant rather than blasts of heat), and therefore it's more comfortable.

What I don't get it why people look for a ROI, do people do that with boilers, double glazing, decorating, extensions, no, thought not.

Solar, I can understand that, as it's not a quality of life improvement as such.
 
Ron-ski said:
There's also other benefits, the one I really like is pretty much every proper review has said how much warmer the house feels, and therefore more comfortable. It may not be actually warmer, but it feels it because the fabric of the house all warms to the same temperature, and your not getting rapid changes in temperatures (it's a constant rather than blasts of heat), and therefore it's more comfortable.
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100% agree and this is absolutely my lived experience.

House house feels warmer and is more comfortable but we are actually heating it to a slightly lower temperature, it’s all about the consistency of temperature and avoiding the peaks/dips.
 
If you're doing a house up with a view to move soon, and thus climb the ladder through renovation, and general improvements, then yes I can understand that as well as you're looking to add value, but I consider that a different proposition altogether. Not something I'd expect you'd gain by adding an ASHP at this stage, PV is only just starting to be a value add for some.
 
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Ron-ski said:
Just spotted this, got a mortgage with Halifax or Barclays, you could get £2000 cash back when you have a heat pump fitted.
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thank you, i think this might just sway me to get the ASHP, would be a minimal cost upgrade with that £2000 cash back and the £7500 grant
and after selling my current boiler, might even be quids in lol
 
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Was just reading some of the comments on the video, just thoroughly check all criteria, one comment said that you don't get the £2k if you didn't actually end up paying £2k, another said they missed out as they changed installer and the new one didn't have trustmark or something.

Could be a real bargain for some.
 
Been a pretty chaotic couple of days with my install.

Had 7 vans here today doing their different bits.

I think their commute highlights the lack of qualified people though. Most of these lads are travelling 2 hours each way to get here and it's classed as a local job for them.

Sounds like they get sent all the UK and they are pretty much all the installers this rather large energy supplier have.
 
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Ron-ski said:
If you're doing a house up with a view to move soon, and thus climb the ladder through renovation, and general improvements, then yes I can understand that as well as you're looking to add value, but I consider that a different proposition altogether. Not something I'd expect you'd gain by adding an ASHP at this stage, PV is only just starting to be a value add for some.
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My wife and I were having a conversation around PV+ battery storage… whilst I’m not convinced it adds a tangible x amount, I would certainly have it as a requirement if we were looking to move. If our dream house didn’t have it but was suitable I’d make it part of the negotiation.
Same with simple suggestions on the EPC.
We’ve only had a heat pump for 2 weeks but as they become the norm in rural communities we’ll probably feel the same way as with PV.
 
ryhoper1 said:
Been a pretty chaotic couple of days with my install.

Had 7 vans here today doing their different bits.

I think their commute highlights the lack of qualified people though. Most of these lads are travelling 2 hours each way to get here and it's classed as a local job for them.

Sounds like they get sent all the UK and they are pretty much all the installers this rather large energy supplier have.
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There's a big skills gap, unfortunately
 
Ron-ski said:
Was just reading some of the comments on the video, just thoroughly check all criteria, one comment said that you don't get the £2k if you didn't actually end up paying £2k, another said they missed out as they changed installer and the new one didn't have trustmark or something.

Could be a real bargain for some.
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yeah i had a look at the barclays T&Cs, I'm pretty sure I can meet all of them
(if I can't it would just be because of the invoice amount - I'd just ask the installer to charge me £2k then lol...I'm sure they'll be happy to charge more :cry: )

think for the barclays, it's:
1) submission within 3 months of claim
2) trustmark contractor (separate to it, obvs the contractor will also have to participate in the boiler upgrade program)
3) more than £2k invoice
 
tamzzy said:
yeah i had a look at the barclays T&Cs, I'm pretty sure I can meet all of them
(if I can't it would just be because of the invoice amount - I'd just ask the installer to charge me £2k then lol...I'm sure they'll be happy to charge more :cry: )

think for the barclays, it's:
1) submission within 3 months of claim
2) trustmark contractor (separate to it, obvs the contractor will also have to participate in the boiler upgrade program)
3) more than £2k invoice
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that's cool, wish HSBC did similar. They just do a bit of a discount at remortgage which isn't too bad to be fair.
 
My install is complete and been running for a couple of days now.

Lads that installed it were brilliant tbh. They made extra effort to put the pipe runs in the corners of the rooms so they are less visible. I saw some eco4 install that looked awful.

The only thing I can nit pik at is the actual heat pump controller is in the loft. They set them up with a esi controller.

I will see how it goes and might have to see if I can extend the riello controller down to the landing.
 
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ryhoper1 said:
My install is complete and been running for a couple of days now.

Lads that installed it were brilliant tbh. They made extra effort to put the pipe runs in the corners of the rooms so they are less visible. I saw some eco4 install that looked awful.

The only thing I can nit pik at is the actual heat pump controller is in the loft. They set them up with a esi controller.

I will see how it goes and might have to see if I can extend the riello controller down to the landing.
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Did you need all new pipe work?
 
RockLobster said:
Did you need all new pipe work?
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I can’t answer for the above poster but the vast majority do not need any re-piping of the existing radiators.

Microbore can also be fine, all my rads are running off the existing 10mm microbore.

You will need new pipework between the heat pump location, the cylinder location and where that joins into the existing central heating (usually the same place as the cylinder).
 
I’m just waiting on an install date from British Gas.

It’s outside their normal boundary so having trouble getting a team here.

I’ve had quite the adventure getting this far, so hopefully on the home straight.

I’ll put a post together once it’s in.
 
RockLobster said:
Did you need all new pipe work?
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I did. But mine was a weird install and situation.

I was switching from a old coal fire back boiler. The pipes were sludged up and they had to add some new rads so he said it will be easier to just replace it. Saves any calls backs or future issues.

Plus I was flexible with them and cut the carpets it made it easier for them. The carpets need replacing anyway.

I have discovered one problem though. They had to add a bend into the down pipe.

When I let the water out of the bath it was dripping water everywhere all around the heat pump.
 
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