Heat Pump heating - anyone have/used/installed it?

[oskar]

Our home has electric only and so our heating consists of unsightly storage heaters amounting to huge bills.

we have been considering getting a heat pump system instead. In theory it seems great but I'd love some opinions on it.

Also, how much disruption would go on in the home ie lifting floors etc. This home seems to have a chipwood floor, no floorboards to lift here, all one level.

many thanks!

 

[Lochy]

Couple of questions;
Where are you?
What type of external walls & insulation does your home have?

 

[Corgigrouch]

There will be a lot of work involved in installing air to water or groundsource heating... Under floor would be best. Sadly for ground source, you will need a fair sized patch of reasonably wet ground or will have to drill bore holes.. Also pick a good installer, not the cheapest one as a poor installation will leave you dissappointed.

 

[oskar]

wet ground? bore holes? please explain

I'm in scotland Lochy, house is of brick, with plasterboard walls and insulated tween brick and plasterboard. Very old house thats been given a modern (90s) refurb......

many thanks.

 

[Norcon]

wet ground? bore holes? please explain

You don't wanna know. Trust me.
Fit a good decent wood batch boiler. Chopping the wood for it means you can keep fit and warm at the same time thus reducing fuel bills.

 

[Lochy]

wet ground? bore holes? please explain

You don't wanna know. Trust me.
Fit a good decent wood batch boiler. Chopping the wood for it means you can keep fit and warm at the same time thus reducing fuel bills.

Not all us Jocks live in the wilds of the Highlands mate!

What tariff is your electric heating; Total Control, E7, E2000? Are you on Scottish Hydro or SOS mate?

 

[oskar]

hi again

tarriff, ummm.....Domestic Economy is all the bill says...... day/night tarriffs...... and its with the hydro........

whys all this important?

ETA this is an 'air to air' system and my flooring concern was for pipes to the new radiators....not underfloor heating.

 

[looneyfitter]

Lifting the boards isnt a big issue, aslong as the installer fits noggins alont the legth of his cuts to add support for the chip board. A same size pipe board would then be fitted to cover the pipework. I would use plastic pipework so the joists can be drilled instead of being cut

As said UFH would be best/ more economical or use oversized rads so flow temps can be kept lower.

Air source heat pump could be used to heat radiators. I would also install amtek heater/s as a backup and also to boost the flow temp if required.



There is a fair bit of design work to go into the setup so ensure you get a descent installer.

 

[Corgigrouch]

Or... You could install decent quality air to air minisplits, perhaps a ducted split in the loft to service the bedrooms and bathroom and either high or low wall units down stairs..... water can be heated using a large cylinder on economy 7... Job done.

Corgigrouch tip number B..... Avoid multisplits, they seem appealing due to only one condenser unit outside but they are a pain in the neck and if the condenser fails, you lose all of your heating.

Fitted enough Worcester air to air units now to conclude that there are better units out there for a better price

 

[Lochy]

The split air to air units is a good call.

Another thought is an electric storage boiler on Scottish Hydro Total Control
tariff, dump the idea of expensive HP. Install standard radiators & high pressure hot water.

PM me your email & contact detail please, I'll contact you & try to help further.

 

[Norcon]

The split air to air units is a good call.

Another thought is an electric storage boiler on Scottish Hydro Total Control
tariff, dump the idea of expensive HP. Install standard radiators & high pressure hot water.

PM me your email & contact detail please, I'll contact you & try to help further.

Dick Puller how much do you reckon for the following heat pump installations for an average domestic property?
Do you have your "course cowboy" and "career change chancing" notes to hand?

1- Ground source ( ground loop collectors)
2- Ground Source (Bore hole collectors)
3- Air to water (Direct Air/refrigerant collector)

Ans = ...
1 - £8000 to £12000
2 - £9000 to £15000
3 - £6000 to £10000

Still interested OP?

 

[looneyfitter]

the later of the 3 still isnt a bad option when you compare running costs, especially if oyu can get a grant towards it.

Ive been thinking of splashing on one myself.

 

[Lochy]

If you were thinking heat pump. Cheapest would be Air to Air split unit. 3kw unit is about £300-£400. About a COP of 2 in the real world at >8degC.

However blow air heaters are not the best. UFH is best.

 

[Biggles..]

The split air to air units is a good call.

Another thought is an electric storage boiler on Scottish Hydro Total Control
tariff, dump the idea of expensive HP. Install standard radiators & high pressure hot water.

PM me your email & contact detail please, I'll contact you & try to help further.

Dick Puller how much do you reckon for the following heat pump installations for an average domestic property?
Do you have your "course cowboy" and "career change chancing" notes to hand?

1- Ground source ( ground loop collectors)
2- Ground Source (Bore hole collectors)
3- Air to water (Direct Air/refrigerant collector)

Ans = ...
1 - £8000 to £12000
2 - £9000 to £15000
3 - £6000 to £10000

Still interested OP?

3. What air to water would you be looking at specifying.

 

[Norcon]

Daikin , Mitsubushi or Sanyo.