fek Knows what he means asked 3 simple questions
Is it worth getting a combi boiler / heat pump?
- Thread starter Gary111
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Andy
Andy
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Wouldn't an older property need updating its windows and insulation if they are not that great?
Just make sure emitter size is sufficient to match the heat loss, at reasonably efficient outlet flow temps. Then keep it running when cold outside, with no drastic setbacks.
If you ignore the energy bill!
heating our house with gas in winter was expensive. Pretty much cost neutral for us as said.
The thermostat on the cylinder is set at full, which is number 5. The maximum.
There are numbers from 1 to 5 and it’s set at 5.
More information needed. What system is it? Is it pumped CH, gravity HW (on the primary side)? What motorised valves and controls are there?
When it's trying to heat the HW, what happens? Maybe the cylinder stat is faulty.
Why are you thinnking of changing to a combi? There are pros and cons with combis, mostly cons IMO. A heat-only boiler is another option, maybe with improvements to the system (depending on what's there now).
Many properties are suitable
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It is down to the electric tariffs. It does not matter what produces heat in the home, losses means you need to produce more, so if the cost for energy is not linked to time it is used, then makes no difference if heat pump, storage radiators, oil or gas, poor insulation will increase running costs.
Where the problem lies, is when you get three cheap periods in the day for electric energy, so you want the home to retain this energy until the next cheap time.
At the moment I have a programmable set of thermostats, so rooms are heated to different temperatures at different times of day, to suit when the rooms are used, but with heat pumps or for that matter storage radiators, we would also include when energy is cheap.
The problem arises when the times rooms are used, does not coincide with when energy is cheap. And also what other things in the house also use cheap rate electric. So if you already have EV charging, or solar panels, you may not want to change to a tariff giving three cheap slots, as the cheap slots are not as cheap as the single slot used at the moment.
I get cheap electric from 00:30 to 05:30 which is used to charge my batteries, which are no where big enough to run a heat pump, and my off-peak is very cheap at 8.625p/kWh, if I went for a tariff to suit a heat pump, then the off-peak is more like 16p/kWh so the cost of off-peak doubles.
If ones off-peak times coincide with a 2°C increase in room temperatures then a reasonable amount of the electric used will be in the off-peak times, if I look at my house, from 22°C to 17°C drop overnight only happens in the coldest times of the year, but the whole idea of raising and lowering the room temperatures to match off-peak power, rather than when you want the rooms warmer or cooled seems a back wards step, we are returning to all the problems encountered when using storage radiators.
And this is the problem, it is not, do heat pumps work, the question has to be, do heat pumps work with the UKs tariffs? And while UKs energy costs for electric are tied to energy costs for gas, heat pumps are unlikely to pay for themselves with many properties. There will be a few where they do, but not anywhere loses are high, and to fit insulation at the same time as the heat pump, gives a distorted result.
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