Neighbours heating puts out massive amounts of steam and smoke.

cattom

Hi. house 3 doors away from me got rid of there old oil fired boiler and tank etc, and had what I assume is a heat pump installed. I have to say, what they actually do doesn't really bother me, as I say they are not my direct neighbours. but I've just walked along past there house to the post box , and the amount of steam or smoke or whatever makes it look like the place is on fire!. and several other neighbours have mentioned it to me in passing. is that kinda normal for a heat pump?, I don't know a lot about the things.

matelodave

I doubt very much that any sort of heatpump puts out smoke. It may sometimes blow out some vapour when it defrosts especially on very cold damp days but that vapour is not any product of combustion, its just condensation from damp cold air passing through the heat exchanger fins

Gerry1

Sounds like the plume from a condensing boiler, possibly in a sheltered area?

cattom

Gerry1 said:

Sounds like the plume from a condensing boiler, possibly in a sheltered area?

yeh I guess so. what ever it is, it makes a kinda low rumbling noise which I can hear when I'm in the garden. but it doesn't bother me, as it doesn't keep me awake, it take more than that! so actually I'm not really sure what it is they've had installed. I shall endeavour to find out.

Ectophile

Maybe it's a steam engine powering a generator?

matelodave

I can hear the oil boiler belonging to my neighbour across the road which pushes out lots of condensation pluming., even when I stand next to my heatpump so I'm guessing that your assumption about a heatpump is incorrect. It's more likely to be an oil boiler

comeandgo

My oil heating generates quite a bit of steam and as it’s minus 15 at the moment it looks worse than it is, though it does not make much of a noise.

greatcrested

Or a gas condensing boiler? LPG is there's no mains gas?

Rodders53

Any condensing boiler emits a plume.  It's only water vapour.

The Grant condensing oil boilers fitted to our development of 6 homes are :censored: noisy - oil pump and the fanned flue, then the 'roar' or rumbling of the burning oil - and we can hear our immediate neighbour's boiler through the closed double glazing if it's silent indoors (rare).

Compared to our son's gas condensing boiler (very quiet) it's like a Saturn rocket during take-off

Our air to air heat pumps are much, much quieter than the oil boilers and I've never seen them steaming (yet).

coffeehound

I suspect a big plume cloud indicates a condensing boiler that isn't condensing much.  If it was condensing properly, that water vapour would have condensed inside the heat exchanger and gone down the drain.  Instead it has been blasted straight outside and only condensed on contact with cold air.  The combi here runs full time with a low radiator temperature and barely puts out a visible plume unless hot water is being drawn.

Rodders53

coffeehound said:

I suspect a big plume cloud indicates a condensing boiler that isn't condensing much.  If it was condensing properly, that water vapour would have condensed inside the heat exchanger and gone down the drain.

I suspect you are completely wrong.
https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/why-does-a-condensing-boiler-create-a-plume.464189/ explains why.