Why is a house with night storage heaters unsuitable for Heat Pump?

tamste

I am considering buying a large (5 bedroom) bungalow in the east of England  There is no mains gas supply (what I am used to) and the property is heated mainly with old night storage heaters. When I have asked for quotes from energy companies to change the heating to air source heat pump (ASHP), its either denied without explanation, or I am told that the property is unsuitable. Hot water is on immersion heaters.

Considering the following (single systems or a mixture)

1. ASHP (will need full piping with radiators fed from above as no wet system in place) but told not suitable

2. Solar with battery - as its a 3 phase supply, can't seem to get quotes from energy companies for this, but can if I say its single phase supply (e.g. 20 x 435W panels (8.7kWh peak) with 9.5kWh battery). Plenty of roof space on the South and Southwest aspect.

3. Upgrading storage heaters to modern ones, such as Dimplex Quantum or  Elnur Gabarron ECOSSH  (existing Dimplex  heaters look to be ~40 years old). House is on E7 and although its rumoured E7 will go in the near future, there does seem to be a number of off peak tariffs available at the moment) which may work just as well

4. Oil boiler and wet system installation (I have room for oil tank), but this seems a retrograde step.


Any comments on the above options and unsuitability greatly appreciated

BarelySentientAI

tamste said:

although its rumoured E7 will go in the near future

Where has this suddenly come from?  I've been assuming it's misreporting/confusion about the RTS shutdown, but there have been several people recently insisting that E7 tariffs are being withdrawn.

tamste said:

Any comments on the above options and unsuitability greatly appreciated

1 + 2 or 2 + 3 for my money.

I'd stop asking energy companies for quotes and go to companies that specialise in the actual technologies.

FreeBear

Just about any property can be fitted with a heat pump. It is just another way of heating the place. Having a 3-phase supply means you are not limited to small units. But if the property is poorly insulated and draughty, it will be expensive to heat regardless of method.

The first step would be to do a detailed heat loss survey. Identify the areas that can be upgraded effectively and within a nominal budget - Loft insulation is (relatively) cheap, as is plugging draughts. Doors & windows can get expensive. Wall & floor insulation may prove to be a step too far. Even if you stick to storage heaters, thermal upgrades will reduce the heating bill.

East of England should have several companies with the expertise to advise & install a heat pump. The other alternative is a biomass boiler (wood chip or pellet) if you have space for storage and good access for delivery.

Reed_Richards

There is a new forum board dedicated to heat pumps and questions about them, which is here:  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/heat-pumps  .  You may find that this question is relocated there.

It's a myth that any property is unsuitable for a heat pump.  A large property might require a powerful heat pump (or even two heat pumps) and this might mean that you need a three phase power supply to give you sufficient power but you already have a three phase power supply.  I live in a four bedroom bungalow, built in 1980 and reasonably well-insulated,  It is heated by a 12 kW heat pump running off a single phase.  If your prospective new bungalow is badly insulated then it is likely to be worth your while to do something about that, irrespective of what heating system you end up with.

Installing a complete wet heating system is a lot of work; possibly the most that energy companies will quote for is a retrofit to an existing heating system?  And the fact that you don't yet own the building may make them reluctant to quote.  But why ask energy companies instead of an installation company that specialises in heat pumps?        

tamste

Maybe the energy companies are prioritizing / mainly interested in those properties with oil/gas boilers as maybe  they are fined if they don't  convert a certain percentage?

Also not sure if fitting ASHP into a property with storage heaters is eligible for the government grant (£7500)?

Scot_39

Size and heat loss may be an issue.

What does the EPC say about energy needs - and building structure assuming available at gov uk or devolved equivalents ?

matt_drummer

The answer is simple as others have said.

The likes of Octopus and British Gas will only do basic installations where minimal modifications are necessary. They will change radiators and even add extra radiators but they are not set up to carry out the full installation of a wet heating system where one doesn't currently exist.

This is for no other reason than they just do cheap basic installations. Complex installations take too long and carry too many risks of the unknown.

There is nothing stopping a heat pump installer who is not an energy company doing the job other than their desire to do it.

Alnat1

Have you considered air to air heat pumps as a solution? These are what most people think of as air conditioning units which will both heat and cool your property. They seem to be popular for bungalows.

Swipe

Or just stick with the current storage heaters for a winter and see how they work out. You might be surprised.