BUS Scheme likely to extend to Air to Air Heat Pumps :)

silverwhistle

Achievable also in my N facing lounge in a terrace house, although I admit that when it is 30+ I also put external insulation on a large S facing downstairs window.

If I had A2A (which I am considering) I'd probably use it to a little degree for aircon, but with PV the cost would be negligible or non-existent.

zxzxzx

Fyi
 
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/09/cool-britannia-the-heat-pumps-keeping-pace-with-the-uks-wild-weather

wrf12345

Pity they won't square the circle with A2A by combining it with solar panels, grant-wise, the current non-benefit grants are usually unavailable (Eco4 Flex and Local Grant) and possibly never available if you fit A2A as it might push the EPC up into C. As it is I can't replace my north facing pre-Fensa bay windows as it would move me from high D into C and no longer able to chase these nebulous grants. I realise A2A is part of the BUS grant which is easily available but still it makes more sense to have solar as that would then allow low tech water systems largely heated by the solar panels - but in my case I have already adapted to cold showers and no hot water so would just use the energy for heating, even if it was just exporting it in the summer and using the built up credit in the winter. Trying to sell a house with no hot water system would be interesting so it has to be there regardless of personal circumstances. Smaller properties might get away with instant hot water and electric showers, which are cheap but not as efficient as heat pump systems. Will be interesting to see if the government allows A2A with gas hot water heating from legacy systems, possibly the best of both worlds as A2A should then be a free install covered by the £7500 grant for smaller properties.

barker77

Swipe said:

At my my previous bungalow I had A2A heatpumps I used for primary heating and didn't use them as aircon at all. I didn't see the point of wasting electricity when I could just open the windows and patio doors and enjoy the breeze. I'd kill for 24C internal temps in winter so why would summer be any different?

Can I ask what you did about hot water. Im tempted to get a combo as barely use much other than a shower daily but could get an immersion if thr standing charge wipes out savings etc 

Swipe

barker77 said:

Swipe said:

At my my previous bungalow I had A2A heatpumps I used for primary heating and didn't use them as aircon at all. I didn't see the point of wasting electricity when I could just open the windows and patio doors and enjoy the breeze. I'd kill for 24C internal temps in winter so why would summer be any different?

Can I ask what you did about hot water. Im tempted to get a combo as barely use much other than a shower daily but could get an immersion if thr standing charge wipes out savings etc 

There was just me there and I had a small 3KW foam insulated electric immersion heater that would heat up adequately for bathing when required using the one hour boost button. I used the kettle for washing up dishes and ablutions, so I never really bothered with the timer feature.

QrizB

If you wanted a clever solution for hot water, you can get HW tanks with integrated heat pumps. There are half a dozen suppliers but they're all similar.

Something like this:

https://tesy.com/products/heat-pump-solutions

NedS

A friend who doesn't have room for a DHW cylinder has a Sunamp Thermino and is very happy with it:

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

barker77

Swipe said:

barker77 said:

Swipe said:

At my my previous bungalow I had A2A heatpumps I used for primary heating and didn't use them as aircon at all. I didn't see the point of wasting electricity when I could just open the windows and patio doors and enjoy the breeze. I'd kill for 24C internal temps in winter so why would summer be any different?

Can I ask what you did about hot water. Im tempted to get a combo as barely use much other than a shower daily but could get an immersion if thr standing charge wipes out savings etc 

There was just me there and I had a small 3KW foam insulated electric immersion heater that would heat up adequately for bathing when required using the one hour boost button. I used the kettle for washing up dishes and ablutions, so I never really bothered with the timer feature.

Ok thanks - what size tank was it ? 

Swipe

barker77 said:

Swipe said:

barker77 said:

Swipe said:

At my my previous bungalow I had A2A heatpumps I used for primary heating and didn't use them as aircon at all. I didn't see the point of wasting electricity when I could just open the windows and patio doors and enjoy the breeze. I'd kill for 24C internal temps in winter so why would summer be any different?

Can I ask what you did about hot water. Im tempted to get a combo as barely use much other than a shower daily but could get an immersion if thr standing charge wipes out savings etc 

There was just me there and I had a small 3KW foam insulated electric immersion heater that would heat up adequately for bathing when required using the one hour boost button. I used the kettle for washing up dishes and ablutions, so I never really bothered with the timer feature.

Ok thanks - what size tank was it ? 

Not sure exactly. Probably around 100L

Martyn1981

QrizB said:

If you wanted a clever solution for hot water, you can get HW tanks with integrated heat pumps. There are half a dozen suppliers but they're all similar.

Something like this:

https://tesy.com/products/heat-pump-solutions

Yep, and just to take that one step further, the same company also makes HPHW tanks that have a heat exchanger. So you can produce hot water, and also run a small central heating circuit, or underfloor wet heating, off them.

The AquaThermica 200 Heat Pump by TESY is a high-efficiency, air-to-water hot water system designed for modern homes. With a 200-litre capacity and advanced internal heat exchanger, this appliance delivers reliable domestic hot water and supports underfloor or central heating integration.

I mention this, as a package of one or two A2A units, plus a HPHW tank, plus said HPHW tank running a small circuit, may be ideal for many, helping to get heat into the far corners, and rooms that you don't want the door wide open all day. I use two A2A units downstairs for the vast bulk of our heating, plus a tiny bit of top up upstairs via oil rads, or electric towel rad in bathroom.

Our upstairs circuit of 4 small rads (no longer used), with little heat requirement would work perfectly (I think) with one of these tanks/heat exchanger.

A2A units, VAT free, can now be fully installed from ~£1,200 each, so two of them, plus say £2k for the HW tank, should be under £5k, so well short of the £7.5k BUS grant. Maybe support of £3k to £5k would open up a new route to shifting more folk onto HP's.

As for A2A units providing cooling in heatwaves, I can't see the problem with that, nor why grant support should therefore be excluded. That seems like a 'don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good' argument. More so now these days, as PV rollout expands, and PV generation is high during these heatwaves. Seems like a perfect match to me, heat provision will probably be greater than 10x any energy used for cooling.


Super dodgy argument, and probably the most extreme edge case anyone will be able to come up with, but this year's sustained high temps exceeded the ability of the portable A/C units at our local animal rescue. So on two seperate occassions for about one week each, we were asked if we could donate our lounge with A2A unit, for a mom cat in heat distress.

First Lara with 8 kittens:



Then Lecky with 5 kittens



Money well spent.