Heat pump / inverter DIY

Cardew

Andy_WSM wrote: »

The disadvantage I guess is that all rooms in the bungalow are heated and cooled the same, but as I use all rooms it isn't a problem.

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My system in my place abroad is ducted - built in from new. However each of the rooms has a 'grill' capable of being shut.

At about £25 a week it would appear that your system costs roughly the same to run as an efficient Gas CH system.

Andy_WSM

Cardew wrote: »

My system in my place abroad is ducted - built in from new. However each of the rooms has a 'grill' capable of being shut.

At about £25 a week it would appear that your system costs roughly the same to run as an efficient Gas CH system.

I guess that depends if you run the gas CH 24/7, not many people do. Also, I have no annual servicing costs as other than cleaning the filters A/C is pretty much fit & forget.

richardc1983

Andy_WSM wrote: »

Ah, then mine is relatively efficient as I have full double glazing, cavity wall insulation and about 6" of loft insulation. The outside temp is just under 4C right now and the ASHP is running about a third capacity - i.e. drawing just 1.1KW of power to heat the whole house to a toasty 23C.

I'll never go back to gas central heating

I only have 1 unit running really as thats enough to heat the flat. It uses about 1.1kw when its ramped down however should be ramping down to 800watts if 1 unit is running. I am waiting for remote sensors to arrive this week as this will mean we can monitor temps more accuratly as currently the return air sensor is at floor level where obviously cooler air is mixing. We have had problems with monitoring temps.

How do you go on with maintainign temps in each room. For me 23C in a bedroom is far too hot hence me having separate units that can have individual temps set.

We also do have full double glazing, albeit a bit draughty!

richardc1983

Andy_WSM wrote: »

I guess that depends if you run the gas CH 24/7, not many people do. Also, I have no annual servicing costs as other than cleaning the filters A/C is pretty much fit & forget.

You should be having the outdoor units coils and indoor units coils cleaned at start and end of cooling season. YOu will notice that when you put the unit into heating mode from summer and vice versa awful smells come off the coil.

The outdoor unit (running 24hrs a day) you need to have the coils cleaned with specialist cleaner to remove dirt within the coil that builds up otherwise dirt can reduce efficiency and hinder heat transfer meaning compressor has to work harder.

Andy_WSM

richardc1983 wrote: »

How do you go on with maintainign temps in each room. For me 23C in a bedroom is far too hot hence me having separate units that can have individual temps set.

It's a bit of a crude set up, but by design the system directs less air to the bedrooms, so they are not as hot (or cold) as the living area. The outlets are adjustable in each room, but I seem to have the right balance so leave things as they are.

With regards power consumption - this Invertor unit is very efficient and runs as low as 500W if it only has to provide a little bit of heat to maintain the temperature. I also use the remote sensor in the control panel which is fitted in the hallway, rather than the sensor in the IDU.

Andy_WSM

richardc1983 wrote: »

You should be having the outdoor units coils and indoor units coils cleaned at start and end of cooling season. YOu will notice that when you put the unit into heating mode from summer and vice versa awful smells come off the coil.

The outdoor unit (running 24hrs a day) you need to have the coils cleaned with specialist cleaner to remove dirt within the coil that builds up otherwise dirt can reduce efficiency and hinder heat transfer meaning compressor has to work harder.

To date I have cleaned everything myself with no reduction in efficiency (I know this from the power consumption).

I have not yet suffered smelly A/C in the house ( I get this in the car though!) but that's probably because I tend not to do much in the way of cooling in the Summer. I'd rather have the patios doors / windows open and as I live near the coast we don't suffer the heat that you might feel inland.

richardc1983

As low as 500watts! WOW! Ive yet to see it go as low as the specs state of 800watts! never goes below a 1000watts! Hoping remote sensors resolve that!

stevehead

Just zero'd my ashp electricity consumption monitors and here's how they fared for the whole of January.

My ashp's provide ALL of my space heating.
A Brittony II Multipoint (Mains) Gas Heater provides all Hot Water
Cooking is Gas
The heating is on downstairs all waking hours / upstairs mornings & night

Upstairs Unit: 154Kwh
Downstairs Unit 195Kwh
Total Electricity Consumed 349Kwh (approx £35)

In December the ashp's consumed 304Kwh

Here's my iMeasure readings so you can see my energy usage:
Last week you spent:

• £5.50 on gas
• £17.04 on electricity

Total you have spent on energy since starting imeasure (7 weeks ago):

• £35.11 on gas
• £139.68 on electricity

The bracketed figures below are the average usage of 37 Households which are
2 Adults 2 Kids / 3 bedroom semi / Gas & Electric
Carbon emissions Kg CO2
Last week Last Month Last Quarter Per person 27 (40) 31 (43) 0 (40) Per household 107 (161) 124 (174) 0 (160) Gas use as kWh
Last week Last Month Last Quarter Per Person 39 (132) 39 (147) 0 (134) Per Household 157 (530) 157 (590) 0 (534) Electricity use as kWh
Last week Last Month Last Quarter Per Person 36 (25) 44 (25) 0 (24) Per Household 142 (99) 175 (101) 0 (96)
Another warm and cheap month's heating - no regrets binning the old gas burner

Andy_WSM

Good to see your costs Steve. I reset my energy meter a week ago when I posted the pics earlier in the thread. I have had the ASHP on 24/7 since and used £17 of electricity in total - the thermostat has been set to 23C too, so nice and warm.

I left the house lunchtime as I am working away tonight / tomorrow and noted the air temp outside was below freezing and it's all still running fine - consumption was 1510W/h.

richardc1983

stevehead wrote: »

Just zero'd my ashp electricity consumption monitors and here's how they fared for the whole of January.

My ashp's provide ALL of my space heating.
A Brittony II Multipoint (Mains) Gas Heater provides all Hot Water
Cooking is Gas
The heating is on downstairs all waking hours / upstairs mornings & night

Upstairs Unit: 154Kwh
Downstairs Unit 195Kwh
Total Electricity Consumed 349Kwh (approx £35)

Hi Steve

In January my total electricity usage was 389KWH this is including my normal electricity usage as well as I have no way of telling what the system is using as mine is a whole house energy meter.

THe cost to me for 389KWH based on my coin meter is £69.63 for a 2 bedroom flat in a converted victorian house. There is very poor insulation but there is double glazing so I dont think I have done too badly have I apart from getting ripped off for cost of electric!