Water tank placement

PowerADE1

Hello

My gas boiler is near end of life and I am looking at my options. I live in a 3 story 4 bed detached house with fairly new radiators that are about 2x the BTU that are needed in each room and the heating uses 15mm plastic pipes embedded in the studded walls. I have 3 bathrooms.

I am looking into if a heat pump will be suitable, however I have some questions.
I have no spare space in the house for a water tank other than if i use one of my existing kitchen cupboards to have it in OR under my stairs space which is not much higher than a washing machine, is that possible?

Also as my homes garden is north facing, the only outside space I have for the pump itself is fully shaded and never gets direct sun. Is this also and issue? (I will not be able to install the pump at the front of my property due to my parking)

Best Regards
Adrian

matelodave

Have you got a loft ?, It is possible to get horizontal hot water tanks = https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/horizontal-unvented-cylinders-295-0000

FreeBear

PowerADE1 said: I have no spare space in the house for a water tank other than if i use one of my existing kitchen cupboards to have it in OR under my stairs space which is not much higher than a washing machine, is that possible?

Also as my homes garden is north facing, the only outside space I have for the pump itself is fully shaded and never gets direct sun. Is this also and issue? (I will not be able to install the pump at the front of my property due to my parking)

Heat Geek have been developing a tank small enough to fit in a kitchen cupboard - It is a heat store, so heats incoming water on demand very much like a combi boiler would. Not sure if it is on the market yet and no idea what one would cost - Gives you something to go hunting for

Have come across one guy that lacked space indoors for a DHW cylinder. His solution was a very well insulated shed just big enough for a tank. That might be an option if you have suitable outdoor space.

As for the location of the heat pump, it doesn't need a sunny spot. What is important is the ambient air temperature. That is not going to be any different on the North side. You do need to pay attention to the length of pipes between HP and cylinder - One installation document I looked at recommended a maximum of 10m. That may well rule out putting a tank in the loft.

Reed_Richards

With a loft installation you need to be careful to ensure that the weight of the tank is supported.    

Strummer22

 FreeBear said:

PowerADE1 said: I have no spare space in the house for a water tank other than if i use one of my existing kitchen cupboards to have it in OR under my stairs space which is not much higher than a washing machine, is that possible?

Also as my homes garden is north facing, the only outside space I have for the pump itself is fully shaded and never gets direct sun. Is this also and issue? (I will not be able to install the pump at the front of my property due to my parking)

What is important is the ambient air temperature. That is not going to be any different on the North side.

Unfortunately this is not true. A shady spot on the north side will be cooler on average than a shady spot on the south side. 

It's not necessarily a problem, it just means your heat pump would be slightly less efficient.

stripling

@PowerADE1
I am looking into if a heat pump will be suitable, however I have some questions.
I have no spare space in the house for a water tank other than if i use one of my existing kitchen cupboards to have it in OR under my stairs space which is not much higher than a washing machine, is that possible?

I have my water tank in the cellar with the volumiser etc to the side of it to fit the (minor) height restriction. I have seen people build small insulated sheds outside for water tanks and it is quite common to put them in garages. What matters is insulation if they are not inside the fabric of the house.  A loft would need a structural survey to make sure the rafters are strong enough and then a platform for the tank. 

FreeBear

stripling said: A loft would need a structural survey to make sure the rafters are strong enough and then a platform for the tank. 

Some lofts, it would be impossible to get a tank up through the hatch - I know I'd never get one up through my hatch, so it would need tiles stripping off the roof.. On top of that, I'd probably exceed the maximum allowable pipe length from the HP.

Coastal75

No loft, room for a shed or a cellar here. Feels like a heat pump is a non-starter for older smaller properties. 

QrizB

Coastal75 said:

No loft, room for a shed or a cellar here. Feels like a heat pump is a non-starter for older smaller properties. 

Might be a non starter for hot water, but you don't need a tank if you're only using it for space heating.

NedS

Coastal75 said:

No loft, room for a shed or a cellar here. Feels like a heat pump is a non-starter for older smaller properties. 

Not a complete non-starter, but you may have to explore alternatives to a conventional hot water cylinder. Take a look at Sunamp's Thermino line of products:

https://sunamp.com/en-gb/hot-water-solutions-thermino-range/

I know a retired couple who have one of these and have no issues with it providing hot water for the two of them.

Netexporter

Coastal75 said:

No loft, room for a shed or a cellar here. Feels like a heat pump is a non-starter for older smaller properties. 

Or use the Heat Geeks "inside out" cylinder, to mimic a combi-boiler. They are designed to fit in a standard kitchen cupboard or can be wall mounted in the space the gas boiler originally occupied.