Wet electric heating system experience?

ASavvyBuyer

It is certainly worth looking at an Air Conditioner/Heat Pump.

We had one installed in November and it works extremely well, and is very quiet.

Most of the time it is 500-600% efficient, for the model we had installed, when temperatures are above freezing outside.

It gives out a nice gentle heat most of the day, keeping our lounge warm.

We also have solar PV panels, which help supply some of the electric, and hopefully all during the Spring & Autumn.

Take a look at the Green & Ethical Forum for more info from others.

Cardew

ASavvyBuyer wrote: »

It is certainly worth looking at an Air Conditioner/Heat Pump.

We had one installed in November and it works extremely well, and is very quiet.

Most of the time it is 500-600% efficient, for the model we had installed, when temperatures are above freezing outside.

With respect, I suspect you have no way of measuring the efficiency, and the brochure figures are rather like my Ferrari(I wish!) getting 47mpg.

There is no doubt that air to air heat pumps can give impressive 'stand alone' figures in ideal circumstances, but it is the system COP that it is important. Also Air to Air heat pumps do not benefit from Renewable Heat Initiative(RHI)

Although from the USA, this US Government publication gives some realistic information on Air to Air heat pumps which are widely used over there.

https://energy.gov/energysaver/air-source-heat-pumps

Richie-from-the-Boro

TRB wrote: »

A friend of mine has it and is very happy but we live in Guernsey and for us it is the second cheapest form of heating as gas is very expensive. First thing to find out is if your main supply to your house can take the extra load because this can be costly to upgrade. The main thing though is to find out what tariff you can get , over here you can get an 18hr central heating rate at 8.8 per kw.

With the advantages of those tariffs and E18 [11 extra cheaper hours] input hours and an average Guernsey warm of June to September above 17°C. and a cold of November to April of 10°C. Add in 155mm of celotex in most of the roof, 100mm of celotex / rockwool in most walls and new double glazing & doors [EPC of B to A] and we might all consider leaving the safety of a maintenance free 80 years NSH and considering the risky dark-side of wet leaky water, pumps, moving parts and other high maintenance alternatives.

TRB

It's not as warm as you think over here, I am working with someone from Scotland who has been here for just over a year and he finds it cold the wind chill factor makes a big difference.

Andy_WSM

victor2 wrote: »

Have you considered air conditioning or ASHP?
We extended our house and seriously considered A/C for that area, as it is so much more efficient than gas fired central heating, even though the fuel costs about 3 times as much. In the end we didn't go for it, as our (old inefficient) gas boiler could just cope with the extra radiators required.
I also figured that while it might cost no more to run, we would be tempted to use it in the summer to cool the rooms, where there isn't that temptation/possibility with gas fired heating!

I did this after problems with a wet system connected to an air to water heat pump (the pipes in the concrete floor all took it in turns to rot out and leak).

I had 4 Daikin air to air heat pumps fitted a while back and never have my utility costs been so low whilst maintaining a constant 24 hour temperature. One in each bedroom, one in living room and one in Conservatory covers the whole house. The kitchen & hall get their heat from adjacent rooms and the bathroom has a small electric towel rail which is more than enough to keep the temperature elevated above background levels.

These are invertor units, which in all but the coldest weather are just idling and consuming a couple of hundred W of power when they are running. I have each connected via WEMO insight wifi sockets so can see the consumption of each individual unit. Giving yesterday as an example day - outside temperature was approx 3C all day, inside temperature 20-22C depending on room, my total spend on running the ACs was £1.20 (for 24 hour running).

rtho782

Yeah, I have a Daikin FXTS50K in my front room ( http://www.aircon-online.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=512 ). I have it connected to Wifi and can monitor the power usage through an app, I can also control it, set schedules, etc in the same way even when out the house.

The outdoor unit is virtually silent, I was quite worried about this but it's not an issue. I have a power meter on it too and, as you say, generally it uses just a couple of hundred watts.

In "powerful" mode, which is like a 20 min boost, the amount of heat (or cooling) it can put out is incredible. It still only uses 1kW or so.

I want ASHPs in every room when I get around to it. So much more control than the normal Hive system we have in the rest of the house, as you can set schedules and controls per room.