ASHP's and how to use them economically?

akwexavante

I have been fortunate enough to have received a letter from my local council offering me the opportunity to apply for a local Authority £10K grant to improve my homes' energy efficiency etc etc.

A surveyor visited last week and is planning to install an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) completely free of charge, paid in full by the council.  At the mo he says it will be a Daikin Hybrid with a hot water cylinder.  A monobloc system, so i'll have most of it outside and a hot water cylinder inside.  I'm assuming that heating is backed up with an integral electric heater as the surveyor said the LPG boiler will be removed, "Did i want to keep and sell it?"

It is replacing a 3yr old Vaillant Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) or propane, same thing heating system.

I asked the surveyor if i needed planning permission, "he didn't want to give me an answer" but i've been offered this opportunity by the council so does their offer imply planning is granted!!??

The surveyor was thorough and stayed for two hours, he didn't rush but got on with what he had to do and had little time to talk to me about what was happening. Lots of photos, measuring up of rooms, radiators etc etc.

Before he left, he said........  "Someone will phone and arrange installation within a week, and it'll all be completed within 4 to 6 weeks!!!!!!!!!"

Crickey!

At the mo i have 16 months left with Octopus Energy before i suffer a price hike.

I'm accustomed to only switching the heating on mid / late November and off in March.  3/4hrs in the morning and couple in the evening if i don't fire up the stove.  The stove prevents the heating from coming on.  In June 2021 the bulk tank was 54% full, and it's now 37% and i've never had it filled, so i'm not using the LPG system much.  I'm going to have to empty it quickly if i want the tank owner to take it away later!!

I gather that using a ASHP as a heating system is used very differently........

How do you use your ASHP economically?     What sort of control do you have, room stat? Programmer? TRV's?

gefnew

Have a read of this thread, or post yours on this section.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6240076/i-bought-a-heat-pump#latest

Gerry1

I'd decline the offer; the council's interests and your may not align.

The council's interest is to get boxes ticked.  They won't be interested if your bills are more expensive, nor if it takes forever to warm up because they haven't supplied you with bigger radiators and lots more insulation.

akwexavante

The surveyor is proposing to replace 4 of my 5 radiators with larger rads and install 2 extras.  Property is very well insulated, the walls and the main roof are very well insulated.  The conservatory will have a new roof with 400mm of kingspan and the glass replaced before October 2022 and become a sun-room.   I'm fitting a new kitchen this year, and the existing concrete floor will be dug up and relaid with plenty of insulation as part of that process.

Having looked at the thread above offered by gefnew it all looks very complex with a lot to learn and get my head around to get the best efficiency out of the system.   As i see things at the mo i think it's better that i wait to see just what control i get of the system via the control panel i'm given.

I'm getting the impression that if you want to have an efficient cost-effective ASHP heating system then it's important to get a grip of setting it up properly yourself, the whole system and that there is no one setup fits all scenario and that users/owners need to spend some time setting it up / tweaking to get it right for themselves.

I think that expecting the installer to set it up is asking far too much and should not be relied upon.  Initially of course yes, but afterwards i think the homeowner needs to make an effort to understand the system rather than just know how to turn a room-stat on/off and up/down through the day and seasons.

I think i'm going to have to turn it off March to October / November and on and leave it on October / November to March with a low flow temperature with (If available) the weather compensation system switched on with a set max/min flow temperature to achieve a room temperature of about 18 degrees.  Too warm for me in bed so i'll have to learn to close the door and have a TRV on the bedroom radiator and open the window.  Warm enough in a morning for me in general and top up the warmth with the log burner, maybe in the evening.

I have the feeling that expecting the installer to get it right with such a small amount of time to do it, and with just one visit, is unrealistic and asking far too much of the installer.

Flight3287462

Interestingly my BIL has fitted (he's a nuclear engineer so did it himself) two ASH to a small house, one for the hot water and one for the heating, to make it more efficient.

akwexavante

Just realized an additional potential problem.

The unit will be installed in full visible and accessible view of a highway and the public, etc.  Don't know how heavy it will be or even if it's going to be bolted down, and it may be possible to steel with ease if it's not too heavy or bolted down.  Someone could pull into the driveway and lift it into a van or onto the back of a trailer with ease.

Are these things covered with a buildings' insurance policy, i wonder?  Me's thinking a CCTV camera may have to be purchased asap.

A few hundred quid to help to protect an up to £10K ASHP system may be a worthwhile spend.   Or perhaps some sort of steel cage?

QrizB

akwexavante said:

The unit will be installed in full visible and accessible view of a highway and the public, etc.  Don't know how heavy it will be or even if it's going to be bolted down, and it may be possible to steel with ease if it's not too heavy or bolted down.  Someone could pull into the driveway and lift it into a van or onto the back of a trailer with ease.

It's very unlikely anyone will steal it.

akwexavante said:

Or perhaps some sort of steel cage?

A wire cage is possible but unlikely to be necessary. You know your neighbourhood, is it the sort of place where things go missing?

Reed_Richards

Heat pumps are usually classed as a permitted development so a heat pump does not require planning permission unless:

1. It's too large.
2. Or you use it for cooling as well as heating.
3. Or  you live in a conservation area.

They can be pretty heavy but this will depend on your heat requirement.  I have never considered the possibility that mine might be stolen but if it was I presume my household insurance would cover it.

akwexavante

Thank you to all those that have contributed here, thank you.

My neighbourhood is a good one with almost non-existent crime.  A small rural hamlet / small village. 120 houses at most.

But the roadway through is busy with a fair amount of traffic passing through twice a day, but after the evening rush hour that's it very little indeed.  Drivers/people from much further afield will see the pump as they pass every day.

The pump is being fitted against an exposed wall and the surveyor has suggested that it may need a wind break either side.  A pair of walls or  two sections of robust fencing. A metre outward from the wall and roughly 1.5 high.  This may screen / hide it from view too, but if it doesn't then i'll make a couple of gates across the front that i can lock up in some way.

It'll be a monobloc pump, so it'll be larger than most, but will it be too large?  Worst case scenario will be that i may have to apply for retrospective planning permission and in these cases most applications get passed unless there's a serious breach of rules, something's dangerous, unsafe and or there's a serious number of public complaints, or you have a council member living nearby.

oldagetraveller1

" paid in full by the council. "

Not really. That will be tax payers footing the cost.

akwexavante

oldagetraveller1 said:

" paid in full by the council. "

Not really. That will be tax payers footing the cost.

I'm a taxpayer too, 40yrs+!  And as such at the mo taxes are hitting hard in all sorts of ways along with vast increases in bills in general.  It's not often you get the opportunity to access something like this, and when it happens, grab what you can.