Air Source Heat Pump Central Heating - Experiences?
- Thread starter Sasquatch
- Start date
Air Source Heat Pumps
Does anyone have an Air Source Heat Pump? Our 7 yo gas boiler is failing and I am considering buying an Air Source Heat Pump instead of just paying a plumber to swap the old for new boiler. My other half is sceptical as someone she knows at work says she saw a TV programme which suggested air...
I think you need to refine your trolling technique, it’s a tad un-subtle.
Air Source Heat Pumps
Does anyone have an Air Source Heat Pump? Our 7 yo gas boiler is failing and I am considering buying an Air Source Heat Pump instead of just paying a plumber to swap the old for new boiler. My other half is sceptical as someone she knows at work says she saw a TV programme which suggested air...www.t6forum.com
Cheers Dubber, although I'm after wider views. We're just about to switch the heating side of ours on for the first time (it's been working pretty well thus far for fairly hot water) as the weather cools and I was curious what people thought, and whether their view then end aligns with our experience.
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Yeah, let's not go there again.I can see where this is going
Using the medium of trolling to decry trolling...
So far the only person trolling is your good self. A tad un-subtle, eh?
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I think with heat pumps the installer is absolutely critical - I'd look for HeatGeek accreditation at a minimum. If you get someone who really knows what they're doing it'll likely work very well, if you get someone who doesn't it has the potential to be an absolute nightmare. The first step is a proper survey to see whether it's feasible or not.
I was interested in switching off our gas and moving to an air source heat pump. I had a survey done but sadly it was clear from the results that a heat pump install wasn't economically practical - much better finding this out at the initial survey stage than halfway through the first winter though! I've now fitted some air-to-air (i.e. aircon) units for dealing with overheating in summer, which also function as heaters in winter so I'm now running a hybrid system with air to air heating in some rooms and the original gas in others.
I was interested in switching off our gas and moving to an air source heat pump. I had a survey done but sadly it was clear from the results that a heat pump install wasn't economically practical - much better finding this out at the initial survey stage than halfway through the first winter though! I've now fitted some air-to-air (i.e. aircon) units for dealing with overheating in summer, which also function as heaters in winter so I'm now running a hybrid system with air to air heating in some rooms and the original gas in others.
+1 for Heat Geek accreditation. If down as a Heat Geek Elite then even better. They have an installer map who will show you who is local to you & the level of course they have undertaken & completed.
Don’t take a punt on any Tom/Dick/Harry jumping on the bandwagon who potentially hasn’t had the correct training or experience. There’s many of these types out there currently.
Not all ASHP installers are built equal.
Don’t take a punt on any Tom/Dick/Harry jumping on the bandwagon who potentially hasn’t had the correct training or experience. There’s many of these types out there currently.
Not all ASHP installers are built equal.
Aye indeed, many pitfalls and much to be wary of retrofitting to an older house.
Mine is a new build house (an 'executive home - theyve clearly never met me!
) so we've had the system from the off.
Thermally it's very well insulated indeed, so if the rads don't get too hot it shouldn't be too much of a crisis. That said, the hot water seems very hot to me, supposedly 57°c according to the panel, although the asbestos skinned Mrs Sasquatch reckons it's not quite as hot as the gas water heating at the old place
It's a Mitsubishi Ecodan (or Ecodon? I'm not walking upstairs to check) system and, as aforementioned, seems to work well with the hot water. Ours is one of the very last ones built without solar panels but even so I'm hoping the efficiency will be such that it'll undercut the cost of running has heating at the old place. Certainly so far the leccy bill, including the hot water, has been somewhat less than the combined gas (hot water) and electric bill at the old place so I'm hopeful.
It's certainly all but silent, so I can knock that one on the head from the off. Stood six feet from the unit I can't hear it unless it's a very still day, and even then it's almost imperceptible.
@t0mb0 my sister lives in a bungalow and has air con front and rear as it roasts in the summer, large roof area compared to the volume of the house. Like you, she runs it in reverse in the colder months and it does get surprisingly warm. She's in the boonies, not on the gas main, and doing that saves her a fortune in heating oil.
Mine is a new build house (an 'executive home - theyve clearly never met me!
) so we've had the system from the off.Thermally it's very well insulated indeed, so if the rads don't get too hot it shouldn't be too much of a crisis. That said, the hot water seems very hot to me, supposedly 57°c according to the panel, although the asbestos skinned Mrs Sasquatch reckons it's not quite as hot as the gas water heating at the old place
It's a Mitsubishi Ecodan (or Ecodon? I'm not walking upstairs to check) system and, as aforementioned, seems to work well with the hot water. Ours is one of the very last ones built without solar panels but even so I'm hoping the efficiency will be such that it'll undercut the cost of running has heating at the old place. Certainly so far the leccy bill, including the hot water, has been somewhat less than the combined gas (hot water) and electric bill at the old place so I'm hopeful.
It's certainly all but silent, so I can knock that one on the head from the off. Stood six feet from the unit I can't hear it unless it's a very still day, and even then it's almost imperceptible.
@t0mb0 my sister lives in a bungalow and has air con front and rear as it roasts in the summer, large roof area compared to the volume of the house. Like you, she runs it in reverse in the colder months and it does get surprisingly warm. She's in the boonies, not on the gas main, and doing that saves her a fortune in heating oil.
Yeah, the rooms in our house which face south are a proper suntrap in the afternoon so the aircon units are great there. They’re actually more efficient in heating mode than cooling though, so I’m hopeful they’ll be pretty good this winter - initial testing is positive.
1920s 3 bed semi here with solid walls, chimneys, cellar and suspended floors so a freezing cold nightmare but an ageing beauty compared to the current bird boxes and their window box gardens being built locally.
Problem here is not so much generating heat as an air or ground sourced setup could work, but retaining that heat with the only easy option undertaken since we moved in being loft insulation is proving difficult without ruining the houses charm.
Problem here is not so much generating heat as an air or ground sourced setup could work, but retaining that heat with the only easy option undertaken since we moved in being loft insulation is proving difficult without ruining the houses charm.
At Mrs Sasquatch's insistence I've switched it on. Apart from a light on the display nothing has happened so I'll wait for it to come up to temp over the next few hours.
I'm quite good in the cold, Mrs S not so good, so I've set to to a compromise 19°C and I'll see what happens.w
I'm quite good in the cold, Mrs S not so good, so I've set to to a compromise 19°C and I'll see what happens.w
I dream of 19C. 
Well, almost 24hrs on and all is good. Now its on its best to leave it ticking over and let rhe thermostat do the work rather than switch it on and off as the weather changes.
I'll report back over time as to how effective it is or isn't, particularly as the weather cools off, and how power hungry it may or may not be.
I'll report back over time as to how effective it is or isn't, particularly as the weather cools off, and how power hungry it may or may not be.
