Air Source Heat Pump Tariffs

nodosh3

Moved to new build property with ASHP with underfloor heating and running costs are high. Does anyone know if any energy companies are offering lower tariffs for ASHP use please?

Mineral1

No there aren't any offering a discount on unit price because you're using a heat pump.

Typically yes you will pay more to heat your house with a heat pump than with a gas boiler because gas is so much cheaper per kwh.

Slithery

Mineral1 said:

Typically yes you will pay more to heat your house with a heat pump than with a gas boiler because gas is so much cheaper per kwh.

Rubbish. In a properly specced heat pump system the electricity isn't doing the heating, it's just moving the potential energy that already exists to a different location.

theartfullodger

Slithery said:

Rubbish. In a properly specced heat pump system the electricity isn't doing the heating, it's just moving the potential energy that already exists to a different location.

Correct:  I lived on an estate in the Highlands of Scotland where a housing association put in ASHP quite a few years ago: (i,e. not a good place to use them, general temperature being lower the down south, early model pump so not as good as now).  People found they seriously reduced their heating bills.

Mineral1

Slithery said:

Mineral1 said:

Typically yes you will pay more to heat your house with a heat pump than with a gas boiler because gas is so much cheaper per kwh.

Rubbish. In a properly specced heat pump system the electricity isn't doing the heating, it's just moving the potential energy that already exists to a different location.

That's why I said typically, because for the most part they aren't specced properly.

So why do you think the OPs bill is so expensive?

ProDave

The problem is in your first sentence "New Build"

I still believe a huge number of present mass house builders simply do not understand how to build a properly insulated house.  the fault with your house is not the electricity tariff but some more fundamental fault with either the fabric of the house or the design and installation of the heating system.

If you want to give some details, what make and size heat pump, how is the heat delivered e.g. radiators or under floor heating etc and we might do some reality checks.  Also being a new build what is it's EPC score and do you by chance (unlikely) have the full as built SAP report?

you might look at economy 10 as an option, it delivers it's 10 hours of cheap rate in 3 time slots one being early afternoon, so heating on maximum during the cheap times might be enough to keep the house warm the rest of the evening (if it cools down too much from the heating going off at 4PM to you going to bed at 11PM then refer to paragraph 1 and 2  of this reply)

doodling

Hi,

Slithery said:

Mineral1 said:

Typically yes you will pay more to heat your house with a heat pump than with a gas boiler because gas is so much cheaper per kwh.

Rubbish. In a properly specced heat pump system the electricity isn't doing the heating, it's just moving the potential energy that already exists to a different location.

Yes and no.

Yes because I agree that the fundamental argument is rubbish in that the energy delivered by a heat pump system is dependent on both the energy it uses and the efficiency with which it pumps the heat and therefore the fuel price differential is not the only factor.

No because, no currently available heat pump system can pump heat sufficiently efficiently to compete with gas that is less than a third of the price of electricity.

From a purely financial point of view, heat pumps are only cost effective when mains gas isn't available and they are competing with oil / LPG / resistive electrical heating / etc.

I speculate that heat pumps will start to be cost effective (compared to mains gas) when gas is around half the cost of electricity per kWh.

[Deleted User]

Sounds like something is wrong if it's costing you a lot to run. Maybe talk to the builder, although you will probably have to get the problem diagnosed yourself.

One thing you can do is get in a tariff that is cheap overnight, and run your heating then. If the house is decently insulated it should reduce the cost during the day a lot.

Sadly if it's a new build it may not be well insulated.