Air to Water Heat Pump Quote Received (Daikin Altherma 3H HT)

Rodders53

Quote:  I note that Waste Disposal not included...   So how are you planning to get rid of the old boiler and water tank?  (Legally, via someone with a Waste Carrier's Licence?  How much?).

If you want cooling then wet CH from a A-W ASHP operating 'in reverse' won't do it (at least not very well).  Imagine all your rads covered in dripping condensation when cooling - and wet slippery floors potentially on the ground floor for the same reason.

Aircon aka multi-split A-A ASHP units are potentially much cheaper to install to some rooms (not all) but need Planning Permission (at least in theory)    They can also heat but will still be more expensive to run than gas, currently.

You need to do a bit (or a lot) more research before committing yourself!

matelodave

Rodders53 said:

Quote:  I note that Waste Disposal not included...   So how are you planning to get rid of the old boiler and water tank?  (Legally, via someone with a Waste Carrier's Licence?  How much?).

If you want cooling then wet CH from a A-W ASHP operating 'in reverse' won't do it (at least not very well).  Imagine all your rads covered in dripping condensation when cooling - and wet slippery floors potentially on the ground floor for the same reason.

Aircon aka multi-split A-A ASHP units are potentially much cheaper to install to some rooms (not all) but need Planning Permission (at least in theory)    They can also heat but will still be more expensive to run than gas, currently.

You need to do a bit (or a lot) more research before committing yourself!

You can use fancoil units which can blow either hot or cold depending on the temperature of the water but I guess that an A-A split unit would be more efficient, however you've then got to have a separate arrangement for your hot water

Screwdriva

Thanks very much for the inputs all. I've decided not to proceed with the heat pump at this stage. Having to chose between cooling or the RHI payments is a deal breaker for us.

Reed_Richards

Better to find out now rather than later.

Reed_Richards

On reflection, I wonder what happens if you get a heat pump, collect the RHI for 7 years and then decide you want to use it for cooling?  In principle the only constraint is that you now need planning permission because the heat pump that has been sitting outside your house for 7 years is no longer a "permitted development".   Would a planning authority say no under those circumstances?  It's hard to imagine they would. 

QrizB

Reed_Richards said:

On reflection, I wonder what happens if you get a heat pump, collect the RHI for 7 years and then decide you want to use it for cooling?  In principle the only constraint is that you now need planning permission because the heat pump that has been sitting outside your house for 7 years is no longer a "permitted development".   Would a planning authority say no under those circumstances?  It's hard to imagine they would. 

I doubt they would ever know, unless they were actively informed of the breach.

However you would need to set the system up for cooling in the first place. Cooling generally causes condensate, so it's not suited to conventional wet central heating systems (eg. your radiators would all drip with condensation) and I suspect underfloor heating (cooling) would not be very effective. You need fan coil units or similar, fitted with condensate drains, and these would best be fitted at time of installation rather than retrofit.

I suspect a separate air-air system could be cheaper to fit and operate unless it was a new-build or deep refurbishment.

matelodave

I dont know so I'm only guessing but AFAIK you can only get RHI on approved equipment so you'd have to check if a reversible heatpump was on the list. Potentially it could be, but you may also need an approved external heatmeter to be able to claim RHI for heat actually generated rather than a "deemed" amount calculated from the EPC and SCOP

It's like a lot of stuff, it can get complicated if you want to try and "adjust" the rules to a particular circumstance