Heat Pumps: anyone have one/thought about it?
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Daikin, based on the heating review. Think I prefer that to the cosy.
That would be my recommendation.
I’m a bit wary of the cosy as all the controls are hidden and automated by Octopus, all you can do is set the target temperature and heating schedule. Great if you are a muggle, not so much for a nerd.
There as the Daikin you can fully optimise every setting for your own property/needs.
My thoughts exactly, I would prefer more specialised setup than generic approach. Once the install is done you are on your own unless it goes wrong so figuring out the best temps and settings to bring out the efficiency is so important.
I would jump on it straight away if I had been quoted that.
Do they give you a report at the end or do you have to be nosy and ask a bunch of questions whilst tye survey is being conducted?
Soldato
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We've had our heat pump now running for a full calendar year for our complete renovation bungalow, which included PIR floor insulation and a wet UFH system - can't fault it in the sense of the equipment, but poor installation and initial setup really limited its efficiency and performance. Now at 0c outdoor temps the flow is at 41c and keeping rooms a cosy 22c while costing us very little to run - we pay £175 a month electricity, which includes running my vehicle too, can't grumble at all!
This gives you an idea of how crap the install was, they'd not removed the compressor fixing parts used for shipping prior to commission and handover - fortunately the neighbours had not noticed when I went over to apologise for the racket it had been making!
It doesn't sit far enough from the wall either, and the external insulation on the pipes is not sufficient either.
We argued and got a significant discount from the originally agreed price at least
This gives you an idea of how crap the install was, they'd not removed the compressor fixing parts used for shipping prior to commission and handover - fortunately the neighbours had not noticed when I went over to apologise for the racket it had been making!
It doesn't sit far enough from the wall either, and the external insulation on the pipes is not sufficient either.
We argued and got a significant discount from the originally agreed price at least
Glad you're pleased with it now. £175 still seems like quite a large sum though. What was it before?We've had our heat pump now running for a full calendar year for our complete renovation bungalow, which included PIR floor insulation and a wet UFH system - can't fault it in the sense of the equipment, but poor installation and initial setup really limited its efficiency and performance. Now at 0c outdoor temps the flow is at 41c and keeping rooms a cosy 22c while costing us very little to run - we pay £175 a month electricity, which includes running my vehicle too, can't grumble at all!
This gives you an idea of how crap the install was, they'd not removed the compressor fixing parts used for shipping prior to commission and handover - fortunately the neighbours had not noticed when I went over to apologise for the racket it had been making!
It doesn't sit far enough from the wall either, and the external insulation on the pipes is not sufficient either.
We argued and got a significant discount from the originally agreed price at least
I guess if you have a huge house/terrible insulation/high household usage and/or do a lot of miles in your EV then it's a bit more understandable.
Soldato
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Exactly. If you have the capital it can all work to lower day to day costs. My car costs £15 to go 230 miles in winter, 290 in summer. Pretty good all else considered.
Soldato
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It's very difficult to give an accurate "before" price given the property was bought with a view to completely renovate and I've got rid of a 22mpg vehicle in that time.
We bought in August 2021, and we tore out the oil fired boiler in March 2022 - we did require an oil top up during that time and when we sold the tank it had mostly been used, and at that point we were still paying £75 a month electricity, and I would have been using ~£30 a week in petrol, so roughly £200 per month, plus oil. We're definitely far better off per month now.
We used 1,359 units in the last quarter (1st Oct to 1st Jan) for the heat pump which is separately metered - £166.34 at our heat pump unit rate.
Being a detached bungalow we probably do have a higher than average heat loss, given lots of external walls and roof compared to a semi detached two story home.
We bought in August 2021, and we tore out the oil fired boiler in March 2022 - we did require an oil top up during that time and when we sold the tank it had mostly been used, and at that point we were still paying £75 a month electricity, and I would have been using ~£30 a week in petrol, so roughly £200 per month, plus oil. We're definitely far better off per month now.
We used 1,359 units in the last quarter (1st Oct to 1st Jan) for the heat pump which is separately metered - £166.34 at our heat pump unit rate.
Being a detached bungalow we probably do have a higher than average heat loss, given lots of external walls and roof compared to a semi detached two story home.
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The last 3 days electric usage has gone from £8 on Monday, £10.50 on Tuesday and £18..40 on Wednesday. Heatpump doesn't like the misty weather, or the LG heatpump just has a mind of it's own. Sometimes it struggles to keep the temperature at 18.5° overnight and when I get downstairs the thermostat is showing 17°.
Ouch. Got any more info on the system / install / house?
It's likely because the air is damp = less "energy" to extract, and the dampness causes the unit to ice-up necessitating more frequent defrost cycles (where I believe it runs in reverse, using the heated "coolant" to melt the ice on the outdoor unit, thus also dropping the temperature of the "coolant").
I've got a Vaillant that seems to struggle most when outdoor temperatures are between +1 and -1. Once it gets below that e.g. like today where it is -4 outside it actually seems to do much better, because presumably the air is so cold there is less moisture.
Ouch indeed.
@Armageus is spot on on the damp mist weather, it causes more defrost cycles but even then, it should do better than it is.
I’m not saying all LG and Samsung installs are bad but for what ever reason, they seem to be the two brands that the dodgy installers gravitate to. When you hear about nightmare installs 9/10 are Samsung or LG. That does’t mean those brands are worse than others, they just seem to attract the ‘wronguns’ for some reason.
Over the last 6 days (not inc today), my heat pump has consumed between 13kwh (6/1) and 26kwh (9/1).it’s hard to pinpoint costs as I have solar, batteries and an EV but the average price I am paying from the grid is under 10p/kwh currently although that will creep up a little if this cold weather is sustained.
@Armageus is spot on on the damp mist weather, it causes more defrost cycles but even then, it should do better than it is.
I’m not saying all LG and Samsung installs are bad but for what ever reason, they seem to be the two brands that the dodgy installers gravitate to. When you hear about nightmare installs 9/10 are Samsung or LG. That does’t mean those brands are worse than others, they just seem to attract the ‘wronguns’ for some reason.
Over the last 6 days (not inc today), my heat pump has consumed between 13kwh (6/1) and 26kwh (9/1).it’s hard to pinpoint costs as I have solar, batteries and an EV but the average price I am paying from the grid is under 10p/kwh currently although that will creep up a little if this cold weather is sustained.
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That's what I figured but the way this system runs is somewhat not what you would expect. I think it may be the Honeywell controller and thermostat. Luckily I receive the RHI payments to offset the amount I payout but that will stop this year so I will have to get this system to run better.
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1930's 3 bed semi detached extended to give us a 4th bedroom, bathroom and larger kitchen. Old part of the house is solid brick with some insulation on some external walls, double glazed with old and new units. A conservatory on the west side of the house and the extension is on the north. There are draughts though and not all the roof is insulated as that is a job in progress.
Forgot to say retrofitted to a gas system, some radiators changed. We are all electric aswell. What we have had to do was balance the radiators as most of the heat went upstairs first but even then the downstairs can be warm or cool depending on which way the wind blows.
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You probably already know this but third party controls can be problematic with heat pumps.
The first party thermostat on my Daikin enables it to vary the flow temperature based on the gap to target temperature as well as the temperature outside from the external weather sensor.
If you can’t extract any proper data from the heat pump as to what it’s actually doing, it might be worth installing an open energy monitor kit so you establish its performance and how it’s behaving.
That does sound like hard work - a smattering of all of the potential issues.
I feel like getting hold of a FLIR camera and a healthy tube of expanding foam to close the drafts would be a weekend well spent?
You’re obviously aware of target areas though so in time should be able to tidy up - and reduce those costs!
That's the plan but I'm slow to get started.